Any of several species of toothless,
egg-laying, spiny mammals of the genera
Tachyglossus and Zaglossus, in the order
Monotremata, found in Australia and New
Guinea. They feed entirely upon ants and
termites, which they dig out with their
powerful claws and lick up with their
prehensile tongues. When attacked, an echidna
rolls itself into a ball, or tries to hide by
burrowing in the earth.