The discovery upends scientists' assumptions about the unusual mammals' origins and is a rare evolutionary event, researchers say. "A fair few mammals have evolved from living on land to living in ...

Necked lizard. Image via Matt from Melbourne, Australia, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons An Australian animal, the ...

The mammalian fauna of Australia is distinctive. Only on the continental island of Australia and the smaller island of New Guinea do representatives occur of all three extant major groups of mammals.

Echidnas, or spiny or spiky anteaters, are one of only two mammals that lay eggs. They are quill-covered monotremes from the Tachyglossidae family. They are natives of Australia and New Guinea. The ...

The Echidna and Porcupine differ in a myriad of areas. The life expectancy of the Echidna is much longer compared to the lifespan of the Porcupine. Additionally, the Porcupine is not endangered, but ...

Prehistoric creatures are relatives of the animals we see today. Although some ancient animals like horseshoe crabs are still alive, the majority of prehistoric animals have gone extinct. Fossils are ...

An illustration of a magnifying glass. An illustration of a magnifying glass.

The body of an echidna ranges from 14 to 30 inches in length with a tail of 4 inches. They weigh 5.5 to 22 pounds. An echidna has a tiny face with small eyes and a long nose, which is sometimes ...

Echidnas are iconic egg-laying mammals threated by environmental changes. However, their cryptic lifestyle and Australia-wide distribution renders a citizen science approach the only feasible way to ...