noun
short-beaked echidna; spiny anteater
Refers to the egg-laying mammal native to Australia and New Guinea. In everyday Japanese, ハリモグラ is the standard term.
ハリモグラはオーストラリアに生息する珍しい哺乳類です。
The echidna is an unusual mammal that lives in Australia.
動物園でハリモグラの赤ちゃんが生まれました。
A baby echidna was born at the zoo.
カモノハシ (platypus) is another egg-laying mammal from the same region, but it is semiaquatic and has a duck-like bill, unlike the terrestrial, spine-covered ハリモグラ.
Compound of 針 (hari, 'needle') and 土竜 (mogura, 'mole'), referring to its spiny appearance and mole-like digging habits. The katakana spelling is now standard.