A long tongue is used to capture prey. Excellent hearing is used to locate potential predators. A special characteristic echidnas have is a thick fur with spines on the back and sides of their body that protects them against attacks. The spines are individual modified hairs anchored into a thick layer of muscle in the skin. When attacked the animal bunches up into a ball and digs into the ground, or finds a crevice to protect it s vulnerable under side.
Monotremes are the only mammals to lay eggs, but their overall pattern of reproduction is mammalian.
Young break through the soft eggshell with an egg tooth. As they grow, teeth regenerate into horny grinding plates that are used to crush their food. Young are fed from mothers mammary glands for 3-4 months. Individuals start mating at two to three years of age. An average platypus lives about 10-13 years.