[Animals] This is the esquidna, one of the rarest animals in the world

[#Wittels-]

This animal is, together with the platypus, the only mammal that lays eggs, it is a marsupial and the males have a four-headed penis

An Australian or short-beaked echidna

It is likely that the word "esquidna" or "tachyglossido" sounds strange to you, it is the only family the Tachyglossa, an animal species where we place the current squidnas and the extinct animals from which they come. It is a mammal that inhabits the islands of New Guinea, Salawati, Australia and Tasmania and will most likely appear in your browser if you start the search for the "world's rarest animal". Its diet based on insects (mainly ants and termites) has also led to its being baptized as “spiny anteaters” due to its hedgehog-like appearance, since they are covered with long spikes that protrude from its fur.

 

In appearance they are similar to hedgehogs, yes, but they have several qualities that make them much rarer: not only are they practically "impossible" to find, but they are also the only mammals, along with platypuses, that lay eggs.

On the other hand, it has a characteristic that makes it more similar to reptiles, despite its appearance, and that is that the schidna has a penis with four heads, although not all of them work at the same time, but they rotate. This strange penis is not typical of mammals and does not even resemble that of the platypus, which is shaped like a hook. The females, in addition to laying eggs, develop a temporary marsupium while they are incubating and lactating where they will take care of their young.

 

The size of the esquidna is around 35 and 45 centimeters long, with a 10 centimeter tail and weigh between 2 and 7 kilos, depending on age and sex (females are usually smaller).

The squids come out at night: during the day they tend to hide, which makes it even more difficult to catch them. This facet, together with its multiple and curious biological qualities, has made the schigna an animal of study since George Shaw, curator of the British Museum, provided and reflected its first scientific description in the 18th century.

 

a mythological name
The squidnas owe their name to the nymph of the mythology of Classical Greece: it is the mother of all legendary monsters. What can give us an idea of the strangeness of the first scholars when records of this animal were made.

Esquidna is, in myths, the mother of Typhoon and other Greek monsters. His body, like the griffins and other mythological beings, was a mixture of a snake and a woman.

 

Link: https://www.informacion.es/vida-y-estilo/mascotas/2022/03/25/esquidna-animales-raros-mundo-64284628.html