Posted on 05/31/2010 1:36:11 PM PDT by JoeProBono
Related to the platypus, this nocturnal worm-eater is the largest egg-laying mammal in the world. An echidna can weigh up to 36 pounds. Photograph by Tim Laman It may be the strangest mammal in the world—spiky hairs, pointy beak, no nipples, four-headed penis. The long-beaked echidna, found in the rain forest of New Guinea’s Foja mountains, has adapted in remarkable ways. A monotreme, from a group of egg-laying mammals that have been around since the time of the dinosaurs, this primitive animal serves as a living link between mammals and reptiles.
Short-beaked echidnas and platypuses are the only other living monotremes. Weighing up to 36 pounds, echidnas have powerful bodies that allow them to dig easily. Muscular shoulders, strong arms, and five-clawed feet enable them to dig straight down into the ground, disappearing from sight within minutes.
Says Kristofer Helgen, mammal curator at the Smithsonian Institution, “they’re impenetrable.” When an echidna senses danger, “it tucks in its head, forms a ball, and starts to disappear into the ground right in front of you,” he says.
Its peculiar-looking elongated beak is an outgrowth of its skull. The echnida uses its beak to overturn rocks and root around for its favorite meals—earthworms, beetles, and millipedes—then devours its food with its long sticky tongue. Echidnas are also said to have “a sixth sense,” says Helgen. The skin of their sensitive beaks is innervated, which gives them the ability to detect electrical fields and navigate gradients in moist soil that leads them to the bodies of earthworms.
The echidna has a single hole, the cloaca, for excretion, egg-laying, and mating. Scientists believe that probably only two of the males’ four penis heads are active during copulation. A dozen males may pursue a female echidna, and she likely mates multiple times. Since females don’t have nipples, they produce milk from mammary patches on their stomachs that their young lap up.
Echidnas are known as slow movers, and though they waddle, they can forage across long distances. Humans and dogs are their only real predators today, which is why national parks and remote areas, like the Foja mountains, remain important sanctuaries for these critically endangered animals. The long-beaked echidna thrives in the mountain rain forest of the Fojas, with its earthworm-filled soils.
“Unlike porcupine quills, which can stab, the echina’s spines are like spiky armor—a kind of discouragement,” Helgen says. The modified hairs come from a long root that originates in a muscular layer of the animal’s body. This feature allows the echidna to move its hair individually or in groups.
Much about this fascinating animal continues to elude scientists, including the echidna's mating behavior. No one has ever reported seeing a baby long-beaked echidna.
My wife doesn’t understand why I watch Phineas and Ferb whenever I catch it on TV
For the music of course, how can anyone forget that classic..."squirrels in my pants".
That is one cute...whatever it is. Sort of a cross between a koala and a baby elephant.
“Echidnas are known as slow movers”
Knuckles would beg to differ.
four heads.....does that mean that if they have erections tha last more than 4 hours, they have to call 911 four times???
Did you hear about the guy with 5 heads on his penis? His pants fit like a glove....
Possibly the best cartoon on TV. My wife thinks I nuts, but I get at least a couple of real good laughs every time.
Awesome snot bubble.
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Thanks JoeProBono. Chupacabra! Chupacabra! |
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Wierd....
Aw damn, just as I was having fun looking at the cute animal.
If they don’t, they’ll go blind......
AARRRRGH! Warning, please!! My eyes! My eyes!
Cause it has more fun and imagination than any six other shows these days, that’s why! :) We’re big P&F fans around here- I can even do a passable Dr. Doofensmirtsh (sic)
A couple of months ago, over on instructables.com, somebody posted plans for making your own Perry the Platypus Inaction Figure :)
Yeah, but these males are just on cruise control.
The female “likely mates multiple times.” With the guys chasing her using two or more heads, I think you could guarantee it.
And to think they accomplish this with all those spikes is amazing.
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