12 Things You Didn't Know About the Strange and Spiky Echidna
2. They're Also One of the Oldest Species on Earth
Echidnas evolved from the monotreme lineage between 20 and 50 million years ago.1
"Short-Beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus Aculeatus) Fact Sheet: Taxonomy & History." San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Library, 2021.
Although limited fossil records make it impossible to know who its earliest ancestor is, it's thought to have been a terrestrial insectivore similar to the platypus. The once-diverse group from which they both hail has over centuries been reduced to just four echidna species (three long-beaked, one short-beaked) and one platypus species. Unlike their aquatic relatives, echidnas have adapted to life on land.
Echidnas evolved from the monotreme lineage between 20 and 50 million years ago.1
"Short-Beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus Aculeatus) Fact Sheet: Taxonomy & History." San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Library, 2021.
Although limited fossil records make it impossible to know who its earliest ancestor is, it's thought to have been a terrestrial insectivore similar to the platypus. The once-diverse group from which they both hail has over centuries been reduced to just four echidna species (three long-beaked, one short-beaked) and one platypus species. Unlike their aquatic relatives, echidnas have adapted to life on land.
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15 March 2024
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