Echidnas are the only mammal species that lay eggs with platypuses. They also have the distinction of not being able to pant, sweat or lick themselves especially because of their quills. So scientists are worried about their response to global warming.
But they discovered once again that nature has done better and that the small animals living in Australia have resources. Scientists discovered its weapons against heat by examining it with thermal cameras, he explains Phys.org. Specifically, they found that the echidna wets itself by blowing bubbles at the tip of its nose, bursting at the tip of its nose. As this moisture evaporates, it cools the blood. “This means their nose acts like an evaporation window,” says Christine Cooper, lead author of the paper. “Biology Letters”.
Scientists have also found that animal quills provide flexible insulation that retains body heat. But it can be discharged without quills, through zones under its body and on its legs.
Using these methods, these observations show that echidnas can be active at higher temperatures than zoologists previously thought.
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