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Article: Ouch! Don't cuddle a puggle.(ANIMAL ANGLES)(monotremes or echidna)
- Article from:
- The Evening Standard (London, England)
- Article date:
- January 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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If you find yourself wandering in the scrubland of Australia, Tasmania, or New Guinea, you just might be lucky enough to see one of the world's most unusual animals--an echidna (pronounced ih-KID-neh). But don't be fooled by its habits or appearance. Though it eats ants with its sticky tongue, it's not an anteater; and though it has spines (or quills), it's not a porcupine. This mammal is called a monotreme; it's a member of the Monotrema order, which also includes the platypus.
Monotremes are unique in many ways. Although they are mammals, they lay eggs just as birds and reptiles do, rather than give birth to live babies. Their ...