Short-beaked echidna

Old does not mean primitive. Let's get that straight at once. Sure, we're mammals and sure, we lay eggs, which makes us unusual in the late Holocene but that doesn't mean we're backward.

- As told to Simon Barnes

Au contraire: we're the oldest surviving mammalian lineage at more than 180m years - we might just be getting something right.

Monday

As an echidna - hard C please - I'm naturally interested in etymology. We're named for the Greek goddess Echidna, half woman, half snake, famous as the mother of monsters, such as the sphinx and the Nemean lion. I don't hold with the theory that our name comes from ekhinos, meaning hedgehog or sea urchin.

Tuesday

But we're singular rather than monstrous. We work the ground for ants and termites like an anteater - but we got there first. We're covered in spines and in times of trouble curl up like hedgehogs, but again, we got there first. Let's have a little respect.

Wednesday