thumb|A short-beaked echidna curled into a ball; the snout is visible on the right Despite the similar dietary habits and methods of consumption to those of an anteater, there is no evidence supporting the idea that echidna-like monotremes have been myrmecophagic (ant or termite-eating) since the Cretaceous. The fossil evidence of invertebrate-feeding bandicoots and rat-kangaroos, from around the time of the platypus–echidna divergence and pre-dating Tachyglossus, show evidence that echidnas expanded into new ecospace despite competition from marsupials.
thumb|a short-beaked echidna curled into a ball; the snout is visible on the right despite the similar dietary habits and methods of consumption to those of an anteater there is no evidence supporting the idea that echidna-like monotremes have been myrmecophagic (ant or termite-eating) since the cretaceous the fossil evidence of invertebrate-feeding bandicoots and rat-kangaroos from around the time of the platypus–echidna divergence and pre-dating tachyglossus show evidence that echidnas expanded into new ecospace despite competition from marsupials