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The Echidna is fuiiiul in suvcml pnrts of Australia, where it is popularly called 

 the hedgehog, on account of the hcdpehof^'-like spines with wluch the body is so 

 thickly covered, and its custom of rolliuL; itself up when alarmed. A number ot 

 coarse haii-s arc intermiimled with the spines, and the head is devoid ot these 

 weapons. The head is strangely lenjrthened, in a manner somewhat similar to 

 that of tiic ant-eater, and there are no teeth of any kind in the jaws. 



The food of the Echidna consists of ants and other mseets, which it gathers 

 into its mouth by means of the long extensile tongue. It is a burrowing nnnnal, 

 and is therefore furnished with limbs and claws of i>roportionatc strength. 

 Indeed, Lieutenant Breton, who kept one of these annuals lor some time, 

 considers it as the strongest quadruped in existence in projwrtion to its size. On 

 moderately soft ground it can hardlv be cai)tured, for it gathei-s all its legs under 

 its bodv and einplovs its ditri^'iii!,' claws with such extraordinary vigour that it 

 sinks into the ground as if by magic. The hind-feet are employed by the animal 

 for two purposes, i.e. locomohon and the olHces of the t(»ilet. There is a spur on 

 the hind part of the male similar to that of the duck-bill. The ile.sh of the 

 l^lchidna is very good, and is said to resemble that of the suckmg-pig. 



