THE SHORT BEAKED ECHIDNA!! (Tachyglossus Aculeatus)

By: Aidan MaierGrade 6

Fessenden School

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

• Kingdom: Animalia• Phylum: Chordata• Class: Mammalia • Subclass: Prototheria• Order: Montremata • Family: Tachyglossidea• Genus: Tachyglossus • Species: T.aculeatus

APPEARANCE

• Short brown or black fur• Yellow black tipped spines• Long slender snout• 30-40cm long• Short stubby 1cm long tail • No visible neck

HABITAT

Found in:• Australia • Tasmania• New Guinea

Environment:• Forest• Desert• Fields

LIFE CYCLE• About 23 days after mating egg is laid in

the mothers little pouch• About 10 days later the echidna

hatches blind and hairless and stays in its mother’s pouch for 2-3 months suckling her milk

• After that spines appear so it can no longer stay in the pouch so it stays safely in a burrow while it still suckles its mother’s milk

• The baby echidna learns to eat ants and when its spines are fully grown it moves on to a life of its own

DIET•A short beaked echidna’s diet largely consists of ants and termites

PREDATORS

• Dingo dogs• Domestic dogs• Goannas (large lizards)• Foxes• Feral cats• Eagles• Tasmanian Devils

CONTRIBUTION TO THE DIVERSITY OF

LIFE The echidna contributes to the diversity of life by keeping a balance of ants and termites.

THE IMPACT HUMANS HAVE ON SHORT BEAKED

ECHIDNAS

Humans impact echidnas because:

• Cars hit them• Domestic dogs kill them

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO HELP ECHIDNAS SURVIVE?

• If you live in Australia or New Guinea, you can help by:

• Driving carefully

• Keeping pet dogs under control

• Leaving gaps under fences so echidnas can roam freely

DID YOU KNOW?

• Echidnas are largely solitary animals and only convene to mate

• Short beaked echidnas only weigh 2-5 kilograms

• The spines of an echidna are made of the same material that makes up your finger nails

• In Australia echidnas are protected by law even though they aren’t endangered

REFERENCES

www.Wikipedia.com 10/11/11

23/11/11

Smithson’s Animal Encyclopedia 11/11/11

www.Animalplanet.com 22/11/11

www.Animalfactguide.com 22/11/11

24/11/11

www.Answers.com 23/11/11