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Monotremes: Monotremata

Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Monotremes And People, Conservation StatusGEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET



Monotremes are found in Australia and New Guinea. Platypus are found in Australia, including the southern island of Tasmania. Echidnas are found in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. Fossil evidence from sixty-three million years ago confirms that monotremes once lived in South America, dating back to a remote time when the continents of Australia, Antarctica, and South America were closer to one another and connected by dry land.



Platypus live alongside bodies of fresh water, in tropical and temperate (mild) regions of eastern Australia. Echidnas live in most of the wet and dry biomes of Australia, and in the lowland and highland tropical forests of New Guinea.

Platypus hunt underwater, snagging and eating various small water creatures. The short-beaked echidna shovels soil and tears up logs for ants and termites, while the long-beaked echidna digs up and eats mainly earthworms.

Additional topics

Animal Life ResourceMammals