Elusive Echidna Rediscovered 60 Years After Only Known Sighting

Only recorded once in 1961 and never seen again, Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna was believed to be extinct. Now, a team of scientists captured a specimen on video for the first time.

An international scientific expedition in Cyclops Mountains of Indonesia’s Papua Province rediscovered the animal, Zaglossus attenborough, thanks to the use of over 80 trail cameras.

Named after British naturalist David Attenborough, this echidna was only recorded once by a Dutch botanist. It is part of a group of egg-laying mammals that includes the Platypus, and its appearance is just as unique.

Dr. James Kempton, a biologist from the University of Oxford, led the expedition. He said, “Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna has the spines of a hedgehog, the snout of an anteater, and the feet of a mole. Because of its hybrid appearance, it shares its name with a creature of Greek mythology that is half human, half serpent.

“The reason it appears so unlike other mammals is because it is a member of the monotremes – an egg-laying group that separated from the rest of the mammal tree-of-life about 200 million years ago.”

The expedition – which was a partnership between the University of Oxford, Indonesian NGO Yayasan Pelayanan Papua Nenda (YAPPENDA), Cenderawasih University (UNCEN), Papua BBKSDA, and the National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (BRIN), Re:Wild – lasted four weeks. A trail camera captured footage of the elusive mammal – as of now, the only images of this species– on the very last day.

A collective effort

Dr. Kempton added, “The discovery is the result of a lot of hard work and over three and a half years of planning. A key reason why we succeeded is because, with the help of YAPPENDA, we have spent years building a relationship with the community of Yongsu Sapari, a village on the north coast of the Cyclops Mountains.

“The trust between us was the bedrock of our success because they shared with us the knowledge to navigate these treacherous mountains, and even allowed us to research on lands that have never before felt the tread of human feet.”

Professor Kristofer Helgen, mammalogist and chief scientist and director of the Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI), positively identified the animal as a specimen of Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna.

Working on temporary campsites on the northern slopes of the Cyclops Mountains, the expedition team was also able to rediscover Mayr’s honeyeater (Ptiloprora mayri), last sighted in 2008. Additionally, they discovered “several dozens” of new insect and arachnid species, plus an entirely new genus of ground and tree-dwelling shrimp.

Most of these animals have yet to receive a name. The expedition team expressed the wish they be named after the Papuan members of the expedition.

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