---
title: "What the sources say about the Short-Beaked Echidna | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "62 claims from the Short-Beaked Echidna profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Short-Beaked Echidna (*Tachyglossus aculeatus*)

> 62 claims from the Short-Beaked Echidna profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Short-Beaked Echidna](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/echidna/)

## Tachyglossus aculeatus (short-beaked echidna). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Tachyglossus_aculeatus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| from sea level to at least 1,675 metres | Short-beaked echidnas have a broad altitudinal range from sea level to at least 1,675 meters. |
| in mainland Australia, Tasmania, Kangaroo Island, and southern and eastern New Guinea | Subspecies of T. aculeatus are distributed throughout southern and eastern New Guinea, mainland Australia, Kangaroo Island, and Tasmania. |
| Ants, termites and other invertebrates | Adult short-beaked echidnas eat ants, termites, and other invertebrates. |
| Mothers have no nipples or teats. After a pregnancy of about 23 days, a female lays a single soft-shelled egg in her pouch, and it hatches 10 or 11 days later. | Gestation in Tachyglossus aculeatus lasts about 23 days, after which the female will lay a single soft-shelled egg in her pouch for incubation. Eggs hatch 10 or 11 days later. ... Mothers do not have nipples or teats (note: FAQ answer; SDZ (family-wide) agrees: 'Gestation: 3 to 4 weeks', hatches 'Ten days later') |
| Instead of a nipple, the young feed through pores connected to the mother's paired mammary glands. | Mothers do not have nipples or teats, but nurse young through pores connected to their paired mammary glands. (note: FAQ answer) |
| Short-beaked echidnas measure 30 to 45 centimetres and weigh 2 to 7 kilograms. | Range mass 2 to 7 kg ... Range length 30 to 45 cm |
| They dig into ant and termite nests with their front paws, poke a long, sticky tongue into the gaps, and grind the insects | Short-beaked echidnas dig into ant and termite nests with their front paws and poke their long, sticky tongue into nest crevices and grinds insects with its tooth pads. |
| on hard pads at the back of the mouth | Tachyglossus aculeatus lacks external pinnae and teeth but does have hard pads in the back of the mouth. |
| It lives in mainland Australia, Tasmania, Kangaroo Island, and southern and eastern New Guinea. | Subspecies of T. aculeatus are distributed throughout southern and eastern New Guinea, mainland Australia, Kangaroo Island, and Tasmania. |
| Feral cats, pigs, dingoes and goannas occasionally prey on echidnas, mostly the young and half-grown. | Predation is not a major threat to short-beaked echidnas, even though feral cats, pigs, dingoes, and goannas are occasional predators. Animal predators are mostly a threat to young in burrows and to subadults. (note: 'half-grown' for 'subadults'.) |
| An adult escapes by hiding under rocks or logs, or by digging down until only its spiny back shows. It can also curl up to protect its underside. | Adults escape predation by hiding beneath rocks or logs, or digging into the ground until only the spiny back is exposed. Short-beaked echidnas can also curl up to protect their undersides. |
| After a pregnancy of about 23 days, a female short-beaked echidna lays a single soft-shelled egg in her pouch. | Gestation in Tachyglossus aculeatus lasts about 23 days, after which the female will lay a single soft-shelled egg in her pouch for incubation. (note: SDZ (family-wide) agrees: 'Gestation: 3 to 4 weeks', hatches 'Ten days later') |
| It hatches 10 or 11 days later | Eggs hatch 10 or 11 days later. (note: SDZ (family-wide) agrees: hatches 'Ten days later') |
| Mothers have no nipples or teats. The young feed through pores connected to the mother's paired mammary glands. | Mothers do not have nipples or teats, but nurse young through pores connected to their paired mammary glands. |
| A female may be followed by one or several males. Several males trailing one female is called an "echidna train." She mates with only one male per season. | Females may be pursued by one or several males during this period. Observations of multiple males following individual females have led to the term “echidna train.” Females will mate with only one male per season. |
| digs into ant and termite nests | dig into ant and termite nests |
| dangerLevel: Low | Males have non-venomous spurs on the ankles of their hind legs |
| a mammal that escapes danger by digging into the ground until only its spiny back shows | Adults escape predation by hiding beneath rocks or logs, or digging into the ground until only the spiny back is exposed. |
| weightKg: 4.5 | Range mass 2 to 7 kg (note: Midpoint of ADW's range; ADW gives no average. Every value in the range is Light (under 10 kg), where the name guess put the echidna at Medium.) |

## Echidna. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/echidna

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Cars kill hundreds of echidnas on Australia's roads every year. | Cars also kill hundreds of these animals each year on the roadways of Australia. (note: family page, worded for echidnas generally; only the short-beaked echidna lives in Australia) |
| a baby echidna is called a puggle | the baby echidna, called a puggle, hatches (note: family page, worded for echidnas generally) |

## Aplin et al. (2016). Tachyglossus aculeatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T41312A21964662.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2016-2.rlts.t41312a21964662.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |

## Zhou et al. (2021). Platypus and echidna genomes reveal mammalian biology and evolution. Nature.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03039-0

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The spiny, egg-laying mammal | Egg-laying mammals (monotremes) are the only extant mammalian outgroup to therians (note: 'spiny' is covered by the body's spiny-back claim (ADW).) |
| plus 693 scent-receptor genes to the platypus's 299, which may help it search for the odours of underground prey | the number of olfactory receptors (OR genes) in platypus (299) is much smaller than in echidna (693) ... The difference in the large olfactory bulb and OR repertoire in echidna may contribute to the ability to search for odours of underground prey |
| A 2021 genome study describes echidnas as led by smell. | Platypuses and echidnas feature radical differences in diet (carnivorous compared with insectivorous), neurophysiology (electroreception-oriented compared with olfaction-oriented) (note: '2021' is the paper's publication year) |
| An echidna's main olfactory bulb, the brain's smell centre, is much bigger than a platypus's, and its genome carries 693 smell receptor genes to the platypus's 299. | the size of the main olfactory bulb of the platypus is much smaller than that of the echidna ... the number of olfactory receptors (OR genes) in platypus (299) is much smaller than in echidna (693) (note: reversed comparison; the gloss of 'olfactory bulb' is a definition) |
| The authors suggest this may help it search for the odours of underground prey. | The difference in the large olfactory bulb and OR repertoire in echidna may contribute to the ability to search for odours of underground prey |
| They have no teeth. | both extant monotremes lack teeth |
| Echidnas and the platypus are the only two living lineages of monotremes, the egg-laying mammals. | Egg-laying mammals (monotremes) ... reference genomes of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) and echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), which represent the only two extant monotreme lineages |

## Nowack, Cooper & Geiser (2016). Cool echidnas survive the fire. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.0382

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Almost anywhere from deserts to wet forests to alpine regions | occurs almost anywhere from deserts to wet forests to alpine regions |
| A 2016 study suggests torpor helps. Torpor is a controlled drop in energy use and body temperature. | Our data suggest that heterothermy enables mammals to outlast the conditions during and after a fire by reducing energy expenditure ... the ability to enter torpor, a substantial controlled reduction of energy expenditure and body temperature (note: FAQ answer; '2016' is the paper's publication year) |
| Researchers tracked ten short-beaked echidnas through a planned burn in Western Australia. | On 21 April 2015 a prescribed burn was conducted at Dryandra Woodland, southeast of Perth, Western Australia ... We studied ten echidnas for 21 to 25 days before the fire (note: FAQ answer) |
| Four of the five at the fire site survived; the one that died was resting inside a log that caught fire. | Four of five echidnas at the fire site survived the burn. ... The individual that died during the burn was resting inside a log that caught fire (note: FAQ answer) |
| When not in torpor, echidnas typically keep a body temperature of 28 to 35 degrees Celsius | Normothermic echidnas typically have a T b between 28 and 35°C (note: FAQ answer; 'normothermic' (normal body temperature) glossed as not in torpor) |
| the lowest recorded in the study was 11.6 degrees Celsius | Echidnas entered short bouts of torpor almost every day during our study, with a minimum T b of 11.6°C (note: FAQ answer; 'almost' in the quote modifies 'every day', not the minimum) |
| For weeks after the fire, the fire-affected echidnas stayed in their home areas and lowered their body temperature and activity. | For weeks after the fire, all individuals remained in their original territories and compensated for changes in their habitat with a decrease in mean body temperature and activity. (note: FAQ answer) |
| A 2016 study gives their life expectancy as up to 45 years, and says this is generally put down to a low metabolism and torpor, a controlled drop in energy use and body temperature. | the long life expectancy (up to 45y) of this species [19] are generally attributed to their low metabolic 3 rate and ability to use torpor |
| The species has one of the widest ranges of any native Australian mammal, turning up almost anywhere from deserts to wet forests to alpine regions. | it has one of the widest geographical ranges of any native Australian mammal and occurs almost anywhere from deserts to wet forests to alpine regions |
| Short-beaked echidnas are among the largest known deep hibernators. | Shortbeaked echidnas are amongst the largest known deep hibernators |
| In a 2016 study, researchers tracked ten echidnas through a planned burn in Western Australia. | On 21 April 2015 a prescribed burn was conducted at Dryandra Woodland, southeast of Perth, Western Australia ... We studied ten echidnas for 21 to 25 days before the fire (note: '2016' is the paper's publication year; the burn was in 2015) |
| Four of the five at the fire site survived. The one that died was resting inside a log that caught fire. | Four of five echidnas at the fire site survived the burn. ... The individual that died during the burn was resting inside a log that caught fire |
| When not in torpor, echidnas typically keep a body temperature of 28 to 35 degrees Celsius. | Normothermic echidnas typically have a T b between 28 and 35°C (note: 'normothermic' glossed as not in torpor) |
| During the study, the lowest recorded was 11.6 degrees. | Echidnas entered short bouts of torpor almost every day during our study, with a minimum T b of 11.6°C (note: 'almost' in the quote modifies 'every day', not the minimum) |
| For weeks after the fire, the fire-affected echidnas stayed in their home areas and lowered their body temperature and activity. | For weeks after the fire, all individuals remained in their original territories and compensated for changes in their habitat with a decrease in mean body temperature and activity. |
| The authors suggest torpor helps animals survive in a fire-scorched landscape. | Our data suggest that heterothermy enables mammals to outlast the conditions during and after a fire ... Therefore, torpor facilitates survival in a fire-scorched landscape |

## Rismiller & Grutzner (2019). Tachyglossus aculeatus (Monotremata: Tachyglossidae). Mammalian Species.

https://doi.org/10.1093/mspecies/sez012

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| No. A 2019 species account notes that the short-beaked echidna is listed as Least Concern on the 2016 IUCN Red List. | all other Tachyglossus are listed as “Least Concern” in the 2016 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List (note: FAQ answer; the 2016 assessment is still the latest (iucn-echidna-2015 reference)) |
| It is considered Australia's most common native mammal because it lives across the whole continent, though its population numbers are low everywhere. | Although considered Australia’s most common native mammal because of its continent-wide distribution, its population numbers everywhere are low. (note: FAQ answer) |
| The same account lists one subspecies, the Kangaroo Island short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus multiaculeatus), as Endangered. | The Kangaroo Island short-beaked echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus multiaculeatus is listed as “Endangered” (note: FAQ answer) |
| That continent-wide spread is why it is considered Australia's most common native mammal, though its numbers are low everywhere. | Although considered Australia’s most common native mammal because of its continent-wide distribution, its population numbers everywhere are low. (note: 'is why' paraphrases the source's 'because of') |

## Gregory et al. (1989). Responses of electroreceptors in the snout of the echidna. The Journal of Physiology.

https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.1989.sp017701

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| An electric sense in the snout, the first known in a land animal | It is the first known example of electroreception in a terrestrial animal. |
| Yes. In a 1989 study, researchers recorded nerve signals from the snouts of four echidnas and identified 47 electroreceptors, each responding to a spot on the tip of the snout. | In each of four animals anaesthetized with alpha-chloralose, afferent responses were recorded in dissected filaments of the infraorbital branch of the trigeminal nerve ... Recordings were obtained from a total of forty-seven units identified as electroreceptors ... The receptive field for each receptor consisted of a discrete spot. Receptive fields were restricted to the tip of the snout. (note: FAQ answer; '1989' is the paper's publication year (jphysiol.1989.sp017701); '47' is 'forty-seven' in the abstract) |
| They called it the first known example of an electric sense in a land animal. | It is the first known example of electroreception in a terrestrial animal. (note: FAQ answer) |
| In the same study, a trained echidna learned to detect an electric field as weak as 1.8 millivolts per centimetre across a trough of tap water, matching the threshold of the most sensitive receptor they measured. | an echidna was trained to choose between two identical tap water-filled troughs, one of which had a weak electric field across it. The animal learned to detect field strengths down to 1.8 mV cm-1 which corresponded to threshold for the most sensitive receptor measured (note: FAQ answer; both experiments are in the one 1989 paper) |
| What electric fields echidnas meet in the wild remained to be determined. | It remains to be determined what kinds of sources of electric fields the animal encounters in its normal habitat. (note: FAQ answer; past tense because the source is from 1989) |
| In a 1989 study, researchers recorded nerve signals from the snouts of four echidnas and identified 47 electroreceptors, sensors that detect weak electric fields. | In each of four animals anaesthetized with alpha-chloralose, afferent responses were recorded in dissected filaments of the infraorbital branch of the trigeminal nerve ... Recordings were obtained from a total of forty-seven units identified as electroreceptors ... The receptive field for each receptor consisted of a discrete spot. Receptive fields were restricted to the tip of the snout. (note: '1989' is the paper's publication year (jphysiol.1989.sp017701); '47' is 'forty-seven' in the abstract) |
| Each one responded to a spot on the tip of the snout. | The receptive field for each receptor consisted of a discrete spot. Receptive fields were restricted to the tip of the snout. |
| In the same study, a trained echidna learned to detect a field as weak as 1.8 millivolts per centimetre across a trough of tap water. | an echidna was trained to choose between two identical tap water-filled troughs, one of which had a weak electric field across it. The animal learned to detect field strengths down to 1.8 mV cm-1 |
| What electric fields an echidna meets in the wild, the authors wrote, remained to be determined. | It remains to be determined what kinds of sources of electric fields the animal encounters in its normal habitat. (note: past tense because the source is from 1989) |
| An Electric First | It is the first known example of electroreception in a terrestrial animal. (note: blockquote lead) |
| The 1989 team concluded that the echidna, like the platypus, has an electric sense. | It is concluded that the echidna, like the other Australian representative of the monotremes, the platypus, has an electric sense. |
| They called it the first known example of electroreception in a land animal. | It is the first known example of electroreception in a terrestrial animal. |
| carries an electric sense in its snout | It is concluded that the echidna, like the other Australian representative of the monotremes, the platypus, has an electric sense |