Definition of spiny anteater in US English:

noun

• another term for echidna

  Example sentences

  • ‘There are only three living monotremes, the duck-billed platypus and two species of echidna, or ‘spiny anteaters’, such as the one shown at right.’
  • ‘The platypus and its relative, the spiny anteater (the echidna), excited his curiosity because they were the only two species left of the egg-laying mammals, the monotremes.’
  • ‘A distant relative of today's spiny anteater, the species lived about 106 million years ago alongside dinosaurs in what is now Australia.’
  • ‘Most recently, Sydney's mascots were: Millie, the spiny anteater; Syd, the duck-billed platypus; and Olly, the kookaburra bird.’
  • ‘Photographed clutching a spiny anteater with the same alacrity that he might hold a non-alcoholic beer, this may not be Harry's only prickly encounter in Australia.’
  • ‘Older Australians often refer to them as spiny anteaters, a name out of vogue for over a decade.’
  • ‘The only living descendants of monotremes are the strange duck-billed platypus of Australia and two species of spiny anteaters, or echidnas.’
  • ‘The two living species of echidnas, also known as spiny anteaters, occur only in Australia and New Guinea.’