Page 87 - Atlas Of The World's Strangest Animals
P. 87

SHORT-BEAKED ECHIDNA                87








                                                                    Skull
                                                                    Echidnas’ skulls are shaped for
                                                                    specialist feeding.A small head
                                                                    is tipped with a birdlike ‘beak’,
                                                                    with which they sniff out food.


























                                                                                               Feet
                                                                                               Echidna are powerful diggers.
                                                                                               Both sexes have long claws,
                                                                                               which they use to dig out prey
                                                                                               and make burrows. Males have
                                                                                               an extra ‘spur’ on their hind
                                                                                               feet, but unlike in platypuses,
                                                                                               these do not carry poison.








































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