It's Alive Animals

An echidna’s to-do list: Sleep. Eat. Dig up Australia.

Short-beaked species of this mammal is a valuable ecosystem engineer

short-beaked echidna

MIXED UP MAMMAL  Yes, a short-beaked echidna is a mammal — warm-blooded with fur and mother’s milk — but with quirks.

Courtesy of C. Clemente

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

With no nipples and reptilelike eggs, short-beaked echidnas look like a first draft of a mammal.