Attenborough's long-beaked echidna
Z. attenboroughi specimen
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Monotremata
Family: Tachyglossidae
Genus: Zaglossus
Species:
Z. attenboroughi
Binomial name
Zaglossus attenboroughi

Zaglossus attenboroughi, also known as Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, is one of three species from the genus Zaglossus that inhabits the island of New Guinea.[3] It lives in the Cyclops Mountains, which are near the cities of Sentani and Jayapura in the Indonesian province of Papua. It is named in honour of naturalist Sir David Attenborough.

It is currently classified as critically endangered by the IUCN, and it had not been seen since its initial collection in 1961 until a sighting in November 2023.[4]

Description

It is the smallest member of the genus Zaglossus, being closer in size to the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus). The male is larger than the female, further differentiated by the spurs on its hind legs.

The long-beaked echidna is not a social animal, and it comes together with its own kind only once a year, in July, to mate. During the reproduction stage, the female lays the eggs after about eight days, with the offspring staying in their mother's pouch for around eight weeks or until their spines develop. The creature is nocturnal; it rolls up into a spiny ball when it feels threatened, resembling the behavior of a hedgehog. It weighs from 5 to 10 kilograms (11 to 22 lb).[5] "Subsequent systematic revision of Zaglossus by Flannery & Groves" (1998) identified three allopatric species and several subspecies present within the island. These authors established a new species, Z. attenboroughi (Attenborough's long-beaked echidna), to describe a single echidna specimen (Plate 1) collected in 1961 at 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) near the top of Mount Rara, in the Cyclops Mountains of northern Dutch New Guinea (now the Indonesian province of Papua).

The diet of Sir David's long-beaked echidna consists of earthworms, termites, insect larvae, and ants.[6]

Conservation status

Z. attenboroughi was described from a single damaged specimen collected in the Dutch colonial era (c. 1961), and no other specimen has been collected since.[7] The ongoing anthropogenic disturbance of the Cyclops Mountain forest habitat is a threat to Z. attenboroughi populations in the area, where the echidna is endangered by hunting and habitat loss. It was thought to be extinct until some of its "nose pokes" were found in the mountains of New Guinea during an expedition in 2007. These "nose pokes" result from the echidna's unique feeding technique.[8]

Z. attenboroughi is classified as critically endangered by the IUCN.[1] A campaign was initiated by local communities to educate the Papuan people about the endangered echidnas in an effort to stop the common tradition of hunting and killing the creature to share with rivals as a peace offering.[6]

Researchers from EDGE of Existence programme visiting Papua's Cyclops Mountains discovered burrows and tracks thought to be those of Zaglossus attenboroughi in 2007, and after further communication with locals, it was revealed that the species had possibly been seen as recently as 2005.[9] In 2007, Sir David's long-beaked echidna was identified as one of the top-10 "focal species" by the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) project.[10]

As of 2017, this species of echidna was among the 25 "most wanted lost" species which are the focus of Re:wild's "Search for Lost Species" initiative.[11]

In 2023, during an expedition to the Cyclops Mountains, the species was spotted on footage retrieved from a trail camera.[12][13] This was more than 60 years after it was last spotted.[14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Leary, T.; Seri, L.; Flannery, T.; Wright, D.; Hamilton, S.; Helgen, K.; Singadan, R.; Menzies, J.; Allison, A.; James, R.; Aplin, K.; Salas, L.; Dickman, C. (2016). "Zaglossus attenboroughi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T136322A21964353. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T136322A21964353.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ↑ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  3. ↑ Main, Douglas (9 November 2023). "An Expedition Finds a 'Lost' Mammal and a Shrimp That Lives in Trees - In the Cyclops Mountains in the Indonesian part of the island of New Guinea, Oxford scientists and local guides made a series of spectacular discoveries". Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  4. ↑ "First-ever images prove 'lost echidna' not extinct". BBC News. 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  5. ↑ "New hope over 'extinct' echidna". BBC News. 15 July 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  6. 1 2 Ravilious, Kate (18 July 2007). "Echidna, Feared Extinct, Is Alive and "Tasty," Hunters Tell Scientists". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 17 August 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  7. ↑ Flannery, T.F.; Groves, C.P. (1998). "A revision of the genus Zaglossus (Monotremata, Tachyglossidae), with description of new species and subspecies" (PDF). Mammalia. 62 (3): 367–396. doi:10.1515/mamm.1998.62.3.367. S2CID 84750399. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  8. ↑ Baillie, Jonathan (6 September 2007). "Search for Attenborough's echidna (Part 4)". Edge of Existence. The Zoological Society of London. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  9. ↑ BBC News (15 July 2007). "New hope over 'extinct' echidna". Retrieved 16 July 2007.
  10. ↑ "Protection for 'weirdest' species". BBC. 16 January 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
  11. ↑ "The Search for Lost Species". Global Wildlife Conservation. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  12. ↑ "Long-beaked echidna rediscovered in remote Papua mountains after 60 years". ABC News (Australia). 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  13. ↑ "First ever images prove 'lost echidna' not extinct". BBC News. 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  14. ↑ Mulligan, Euan O'Byrne (10 November 2023). "What happened to the lost Attenborough echidna? How it was found after 60 years". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
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