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echidna
echidna or spiny anteater, primitive animal of the order Monotremata, the egg-laying mammals. A short-legged, grayish brown animal, the echidna is covered with sharp quills and can protect itself by rolling into a tight bristly ball. It may reach 18 in. (46 cm) in length. Padded soles and stout claws make it a clumsy walker but a strong and rapid burrower. The echidna has only a rudimentary tail and lacks both external ears and teeth. With its sensitive muzzle and long sticky tongue it probes for ants and termites. It is nocturnal and hibernates in winter. There are two genera and several species of echidna; all are native to the sandy and rocky areas of New Guinea, E Australia, and Tasmania. Females produce one or two eggs, which are deposited in a rudimentary marsupial pouch. The newly hatched young remain in the pouch, feeding on a milky fluid, until their spines begin to grow. Echidnas are not closely related to true anteaters, which are higher mammals. They are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Monotremata. |
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"echidna." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "echidna." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-echidna.html "echidna." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-echidna.html |
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echidna
e·chid·na / əˈkidnə/ • n. a spiny insectivorous egg-laying mammal (family Tachyglossidae, order Monotremata) with a long snout and claws, native to Australia and New Guinea. Also called spiny anteater. |
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"echidna." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "echidna." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-echidna.html "echidna." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-echidna.html |
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echidna
echidna (spiny anteater) Monotreme related to the platypus, found in Australia and New Guinea. It is a primitive egg-laying mammal with a cloaca, spines on the upper body, and an elongated snout. Length: 30–77cm (12–30in).
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"echidna." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "echidna." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-echidna.html "echidna." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-echidna.html |
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Echidna
Echidna, in Spenser's Faerie Queene (vi. vi), is the mother of the Blatant Beast. In Greek mythology, a monster, half woman and half snake.
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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Echidna." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Echidna." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Echidna.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Echidna." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Echidna.html |
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echidna
echidna (Tachyglossus) See TACHYGLOSSIDAE.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "echidna." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "echidna." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-echidna.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "echidna." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-echidna.html |
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Echidna
Echidna see Typhon . |
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Cite this article
"Echidna." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Echidna." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-Echidna.html "Echidna." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-Echidna.html |
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echidna
echidna
•beginner, Berliner, Corinna, dinner, grinner, inner, Jinnah, sinner, skinner, spinner, thinner, winner
•echidna
•Krishna, Mishnah, Ramakrishna
•vintner • prisoner • Pilsner
•Kitchener • Modena • bargainer
•imaginer
•Elinor, Helena
•milliner
•examiner, stamina
•epiphenomena, phenomena, prolegomena
•alumina, noumena, numina
•determiner
•mariner, submariner
•foreigner • larcener • Porsena
•patina • retina • Pristina
•Herzegovina • breadwinner
•prizewinner
•angina, assigner, china, consignor, decliner, definer, Dinah, diner, diviner, forty-niner, hardliner, incliner, Indo-China, liner, maligner, Medina, miner, minor, mynah, recliner, refiner, Regina, Salina, Shekinah, shiner, signer, South Carolina, Steiner, twiner, vagina, whiner
•headliner • jetliner • airliner
•mainliner • eyeliner • moonshiner
•Landsteiner • Niersteiner
•Liechtensteiner
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"echidna." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "echidna." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-echidna.html "echidna." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-echidna.html |
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