Common name : Short-beaked echidna, Spiny anteater, Native porcupine
Scientific name : Tachyglossus aculeatus
Family : Tachyglossidae
Native to : Australia, New Guinea
Interesting fact : They are one of the only two egg-laying mammals in the world.
Conservation status : Critically Endangered
They are black or brown in colour with bodies covered with coarse hair and spines. Their long and slender snouts function as both nose and mouth. They break down their food by grinding it between their tongues and the bottom of their mouths. They female lays a single egg in a pouch, or a flap of skin, on its belly.