Hello ladies and gents this si the Viking telling you that today we are talking about
Fun Facts About the Echidna
THE ECHIDNA HAS spines like a porcupine, a beak like a bird, a pouch like a kangaroo, and lays eggs like a reptile. Also known as spiny anteaters, they're small, solitary mammals native to Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. They're usually between 12 and 17 inches long and weigh between 4 and 10 pounds.
There are two genera of echidna. The short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) belongs to the genus Tachyglossus, while the three species of long-beaked echidna belong to the genus Zaglossus. Short-beaked echidnas are smaller and have longer hair than long-beaked echidnas. Long-beaked echidnas, native to New Guinea, include one species named after Sir David Attenborough (Z. attenborough). These animal oddities are elusive, but the more scientists discover about echidnas, the weirder it gets. Read on to see for yourself.
1. Their spines are actually modified hairs.
Echidnas' bodies (with the exception of their undersides, faces, and legs) are covered with 2-inch long spines. Fur between the spines provides insulation.
2. Echidnas live slow and long.
Echidnas have the lowest body temperature of any mammal, 32__°__C (89__°__F). Their body temperatures are not controlled in the same way as that of other mammals, and can fluctuate by up 6–8°C over the course of the day. Their long life spans — up to 50 years in captivity, with anecdotal reports of wild animals reaching 45 years — are due to their low body temperature and slow metabolism.
3. Male echidnas have a bizarre, four-headed penis.
You might wonder how you mate with a four-headed penis. During sex, two of the heads shut down while the other two grow bigger to fit into the female's two-branched reproductive tract. Males alternate the heads they use between matings. This one-sided ejaculation may play a role in sperm competition, as many males attempt to fertilize the same female. In another possible adaptation for sperm competition, echidna sperm form bundles that swim faster than individual sperm cells.
If you're curious about what the echidna's penis looks like, you are a weirdo
4. Echidnas form mating trains.
A strange process marks the start of echidna breeding season. Males line up nose to tail behind a single female, forming a train of up to a dozen individuals. Trains can last more than a month, with males dropping out and rejoining. When the female is finally ready to mate, the males dig a trench in the ground around her. The males compete for mating honors by pushing each other out of the trench. The last one remaining gets to mate with the female.
Male echidnas may also mate with hibernating females. Males sometimes wake up from hibernation early and sneak into the burrows of still-hibernating females. This can result in female echidnas waking up from hibernation and finding themselves pregnant.
5. Echidnas are egg-laying mammals.
Along with the platypus, the echidna is a member of the monotremes, an order of egg-laying mammals found in Australia. After mating, a female echidna lays a single, soft-shelled, leathery egg, about the size of a dime, into her pouch. Ten days later, the baby echidna (called a puggle and smaller than a jelly bean) hatches.
And as always have a chilled day from the Viking
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