 They forage in leaf litter on the forest floor, eating earthworms and insects.The species are

The two fossil species are

The short-beaked echidna ("Tachyglossus aculeatus") is found in southern, southeast and northeast New Guinea, and also occurs in almost all Australian environments, from the snow-clad Australian Alps to the deep deserts of the Outback, essentially anywhere ants and termites are available.It is smaller than the "Zaglossus" species, and it has longer hair.