How to Use echidna in a Sentence
echidna
noun-
All that remains of that branch of the family tree is the platypus and four species of echidna.
—National Geographic, 30 July 2016
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The echidna’s eyes were irritated by hearth-smoke, so Afek told it to go to the high forest.
—Tim Flannery, The New York Review of Books, 3 Dec. 2020
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There are only five existing species of monotremes: the platypus and four species of echidna.
—Natalie Kainz, NBC News, 10 Nov. 2023
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Monotremes, such as the platypus and echidna, took refuge in Australia and New Guinea, where a scant five species remain today.
—Steve Brusatte, Scientific American, 1 June 2022
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The echidna — an egg-laying mammal that looks like a hedgehog with a long snout — has no nipples at all.
—Elizabeth Preston, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2020
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Australia’s echidna, like the platypus, belongs to an odd group of mammals that lay eggs, known as monotremes.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 21 Jan. 2023
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Now, a team of scientists has discovered some of the strategies the echidna employs to stay cool.
—Byjack Tamisiea, science.org, 17 Jan. 2023
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One side would go up into the Cyclops Mountains to search for an echidna while the other party would go to the ocean to find a marlin.
—Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Nov. 2023
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Knuckles, a red echidna with spiky knuckles who’s sometimes a friend and foe of Sonic in the games, is voiced by Idris Elba.
—Jennifer Yuma, Variety, 9 Dec. 2021
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That was not the case with his latest character, a surly red cartoon echidna named Knuckles.
—New York Times, 8 Apr. 2022
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The earliest mammals, much like reptiles, laid eggs just as the duckbilled platypus and the echidna do today.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Oct. 2022
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Scientists say the samples can help them learn about echidna health, diet and stress levels.
—Mike Cherney, WSJ, 8 Mar. 2018
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With a long, sticky tongue, a penchant for snacking on ants and termites, and a body covered in barbless quills called spines, the echidna is also known as a spiny anteater.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 18 Jan. 2023
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Despite being one of the world’s oldest surviving species, the echidna is also thought to be sensitive to heat.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 18 Jan. 2023
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The short-beaked echidna, Tachyglossus aculeatus, is one of four living species of echidna.
—Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 21 Apr. 2016
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The echidna, on the other hand, has a more restricted territory.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 14 June 2023
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Areas of pale and white fur on the platypus, koala, bilby and Tasmanian devil glowed, as did the white quills and pouch skin of the short-beaked echidna and parts of the southern hairy-nosed wombat’s pale fur.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Oct. 2023
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Besides their keen sense of smell, echidnas’ spines are a key protection mechanism.
—Carolyn Hagler, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 June 2023
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In future studies, Cooper and her colleagues plan to model how much heat the echidna loses as its snot evaporates and its spines shift.
—Byjack Tamisiea, science.org, 17 Jan. 2023
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Cookie can’t lay an egg, but a volcanic eruption turns his New Zealand refuge upside down and sets a curious soft echidna’s egg in his path.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 14 June 2023
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From the Australia tour, per The Telegraph: They were handed at least 97 soft toys and teddies, including 11 koalas, five kangaroos, four kiwis and one echidna.
—Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, 5 Apr. 2019
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Many birds lay white, unpigmented eggs—as do all lizards, turtles, crocodiles, and the only known egg-laying mammals, the platypus and the echidna.
—National Geographic, 18 Sep. 2017
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Australia’s echidna has developed a curious way to cool off — blowing bubbles out of its beaklike snout.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 18 Jan. 2023
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But researchers almost did not locate the rare species, Kempton said, noting that the images of the echidna were not found until looking at the last SD card on the final day of the long expedition.
—Michael Lee, Fox News, 12 Nov. 2023
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Idris Elba voices Knuckles, a hot-headed red echidna with super strength.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 14 Mar. 2022
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Plans are to introduce Shaw, a male echidna animal ambassador, to a female.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2019
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For example, leading zoos around the world over the decades have managed to breed fewer than 50 echidnas — strange, egg-laying mammals that resemble hedgehogs.
—Rachel Nuwer, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2018
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Other notable animals include the platypus and echidna, both mammals that lay eggs.
—Andrea Rumbaugh, Houston Chronicle, 12 Feb. 2018
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In addition to the echidnas, the expedition team made other groundbreaking finds.
—Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Nov. 2023
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Among mammals, the power had only previously been observed in the echidna and platypus--weird egg-laying mammals that, superhero or not, would have a home on any team of mutants.
—Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 1 Aug. 2011
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'echidna.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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