Short-beaked echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus Least concern
Where the short-beaked echidna lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.
Pin and shaded countries are approximate. The pin is a representative wild sighting (a central record among 100,404 open-licence GBIF records), not an official range. Method · Records on GBIF · See platypus & echidnas on the world map
| Scientific name | Tachyglossus aculeatus |
|---|---|
| Group | Platypus & echidnas |
| Status | Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label) |
| Found in | 1 country |
| Continents | Oceania |
| Class | Mammal |
| Order | Monotremata |
| Family | Tachyglossidae |
Where does the short-beaked echidna live?
Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the short-beaked echidna in 1 country or territory across Oceania. Wikidata gives its range as: Indonesia, Australia, Papua New Guinea.
Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.
Is the short-beaked echidna endangered?
The short-beaked echidna’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.
What kind of animal is the short-beaked echidna?
The short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) is a mammal in the order Monotremata and the family Tachyglossidae, genus Tachyglossus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)
About the short-beaked echidna
The short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), also known as the common echidna, or short-nosed echidna, is one of four living species of echidna, and the only member of the genus Tachyglossus, from Ancient Greek ταχύς (takhús), meaning "fast", and γλῶσσα (glôssa), meaning "tongue". It is covered in fur and spines and has a distinctive snout and a specialised tongue, which it uses to catch its insect prey at a great speed. Like the other extant monotremes, the short-beaked echidna lays eggs; the monotremes are the only living group of mammals to do so.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Short-beaked echidna (revision 1380879515), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q193182 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).
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