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echidna

[ ih-kid-nuh ]

noun

  1. Also called spiny anteater. any of several insectivorous monotremes of the genera Tachyglossus, of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea, and Zaglossus, of New Guinea, that have claws and a slender snout and are covered with coarse hair and long spines.


echidna

/ ɪˈkɪdnə /

noun

  1. any of the spine-covered monotreme mammals of the genera Tachyglossus of Australia and Zaglossus of New Guinea: family Tachyglossidae. They have a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites Also calledspiny anteater
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of echidna1

< New Latin (1798), originally a genus name; Latin: serpent, Echidna a mythical creature which gave birth to the Hydra and other monsters < Greek échidna, akin to échis viper
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Word History and Origins

Origin of echidna1

C19: from New Latin, from Latin: viper, from Greek ekhidna
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Example Sentences

In the same way a peculiar form of covering occurs in Echidna and the hedgehog.

Compare feathered heads in very different birds with spines in Echidna and Hedgehog.

With the exception of the atlas of Echidna the cervical vertebrae are without zygapophyses.

In the hedgehogs, porcupines and Echidna certain of the hairs are modified and greatly enlarged, forming stiff spines.

In Echidna the face is drawn out into a gradually tapering rostrum, formed mainly by the premaxillae, maxillae and nasals.

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Echeverría Álvarezechinacea