Monotreme Spotlight: Echidna

In parts of Australia and New Guinea, there is a another monotreme of some interest called an echidna. (Pronounced eh-kid-nah.) Although they are related to the platypus, they are extremely different in appearance. For one thing, they look something like a cross between a porcupine and an anteater. They are even often referred to as spiny anteaters.

The snout is actually for rummaging around anthills. They even have a long, sticky tongue for picking up their tiny food. Oddly, they have no teeth. Whatever food they get into their mouths are grinded down between the bottom of their mouths and their tongues.

The echidna has very sharp claws and is an excellent and efficient digger. Digging is important because they do not do well in extremely hot environments. They often need a place to retreat to, but if there is a nearby cave, they will likely take that instead. There is another reason why their digging comes in handy, but I will get into that a bit later.

Echidnas are mammals, and like the platypus, they do lay eggs. The main difference here is that they do not lay eggs in a nest. The echidna has a rear-facing pouch on its body where the eggs remain until they hatch. The hatching process generally takes about 10 days, and the children remain in there for up to 55 days suckling milk from patches of skin where it seeps through. To explain it in another way, the children are giving their mother "hickies" to get at the milk. Once the children ate too old for the pouch, they are deposited into a burrowed nursery and taken care of for seven months.

So, about their personality: Echidnas are remarkably timid. They really do not like to be near any creature bigger than they are. The spines of this animal are it's main defense, but just having them is not good enough. As it turns out, they are quite easy to flip over. Because of this, when the echidna feels threatened, they will do one of two things. In a pinch, they can curl up into a ball and hope that whatever is assailing them will have a hard time trying to pry them open. Otherwise, they will quickly use their claws to dig a depression into the ground and bury themselves so that only the spines stick out. I watched a video of one doing this, and I thought it was super cute.

There are a few echidnas in fiction, but there is only really one that stands out on top. In the "Sonic the Hedgehog" franchise of video games, TV shows, and comic books, there is a rather notable echidna known as Knuckles. Knuckles is known for being very strong but also very naive. He is not really allied with anybody--not really. He tends to change sides purely only to suite his interests, but he is not--I repeat, not--a bad guy. He has a solemn duty to protect his homeland, and he will do anything and everything to make that happen. The problem is that he often falls in with bad crowds because of his gullibility.

I do have a beef with this character. He does not really in any way represent the original animal. Naivete and timidity are not one in the same. Knuckles prefers to fight with his fists and he is not afraid of anybody. Real echidnas are not strong and prefer to hunker down when trouble comes their way. They are passive creatures. Although I like the character, I don't think it was a good interpretation of the creature he was based on.

Personally, I see echidnas living in super closed-in communities. They want to feel safe and live normal lives without having to deal with the threats of the world around them. They are very polite and courteous to one another. I cannot see any of them ever quarreling.

The echidna is another strange creature to come out of Australia. The land is filled with weird and wonderful animals like this. I hope you have enjoyed our romp through the country, but as always, it has to come to an end sooner or later. I wonder what we will be dealing with next week.

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Knuckles the Echidna