What's a Spiny Anteater?

Echidnas, sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes belonging to the family Tachyglossidae. The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the only surviving members of the order Monotremata.

What is the other name for spiny anteater?

Echidna, (family Tachyglossidae), also called spiny anteater, any of four species of peculiar egg-laying mammals from Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea that eat and breathe through a bald tubular beak protruding from a dome-shaped body covered in spines.

Are spiny anteaters poisonous?

A small organ located on the hind legs of the male gave the spiny anteaters their name of echidna, which means “adder,” because it is connected to a poison gland. However, the fluid is not really very poisonous, and the animals are more likely to try to escape by digging when in danger.