| SPINY ANTEATER - ECHIDNA HYSTRIX - The Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), also known as the Spiny Anteater because of its diet of ants and termites, is one of four living species of echidna and the only member of the genus Tachyglossus. The Short-beaked Echidna is covered in fur and spines and has a distinctive snout and a specialized tongue, which it uses to catch its prey at a great speed. Like the other extant monotremes, the Short-beaked Echidna lays eggs; the monotremes are the only group of mammals to do so. The species is found throughout Australia, where it is the most widespread native mammal, and in coastal and highland regions of southwestern New Guinea, where it is known as the Mungwe in the Daribi and Chimbu languages.[2] It is not threatened with extinction, but human activities, such as hunting, habitat destruction, and the introduction of foreign predatory species and parasites, have reduced the distribution of the Short-beaked Echidna in Australia
PLATYPUS - ORNITHORHYNCHUS PARADOXUS - The Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a 30–60 cm long, semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia and Tasmania, and one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young (the other four are echidnas). It is the sole extant representative of its family (Ornithorhynchidae) and genus (Ornithorhynchus), though a number of fossilised relatives have been found, some of them also in the Ornithorhynchus genus. This egg-laying, duck-billed mammal whose males have a venomous spur on the hind foot, baffled naturalists when it was first discovered. The uniqueness of the platypus makes it a recognizable symbol of Australia Published for Joseph Meyer Meyers Konversations |
