echidna

A short-nosed echidna. The female develops a temporary pouch during the breeding season, into which she transfers the single egg she has laid. The egg hatches 7–10 days later.

Toothless, egg-laying, spiny mammal of the order Monotremata, found in Australia and New Guinea. There are two species: Tachyglossus aculeatus, the short-nosed echidna, and the rarer Zaglossus bruijni, the long-nosed echidna. They feed entirely upon ants and termites, which they dig out with their powerful claws and lick up with their prehensile tongues. When attacked, an echidna rolls itself into a ball, or tries to hide by burrowing in the earth.