Species group · Mammals
Long-beaked Echidnas
WAnimals has 3 species of long-beaked echidna, all in the family Tachyglossidae.
- 3 species
- 1 family
- 3 countries
- 56 parks
- Weight
- 2 kg – 16.5 kg
- Length
- 30 cm – 1 m
- Lifespan
- 45 years
Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 3.
All 3 species of long-beaked echidnas on WAnimals
Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
Conservation status
2 especies in this group están en alguna categoría de riesgo real según la UICN.
See the global conservation statusWhere they live
Recorded in 3 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
Where to see them
Did you know…
It is exceptionally long-lived for its size, ageing remarkably slowly.
From Short-beaked Echidna
It eats ants and termites, drawn out on its long sticky tongue.
From Short-beaked Echidna
It lives in a wide range of habitats in Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, from forest to arid country.
From Short-beaked Echidna
It is the largest egg-laying mammal in the world: it lays eggs and can weigh more than 16 kilos.
It detects prey with electroreceptors at the tip of its snout, a sense that among mammals is shared only by the echidnas and the platypus.
In November 2023 a scientific expedition filmed it alive in the Cyclops Mountains after more than sixty years without a confirmed record.
Like all monotremes, the female lays a leathery egg that she incubates in a temporary pouch and then feeds the young on milk that seeps through the pores of her skin, since she has no teats.