Bizarre creature named after David Attenborough found after 60 years
Scientists have rediscovered a long-lost species of mammal described as having the spines of a hedgehog, the snout of an anteater, the feet of a mole – and the name of a national treasure.
Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna, named after Sir David Attenborough, was spotted in Indonesia’s Cyclops Mountains more than 60 years after it was last recorded.
The tiny individual was photographed and filmed for the first time by a trail camera on the last day of a four-week expedition led by Oxford University scientists.
Previously the species was only identified by a single museum specimen in 1961, and had never been seen in the wild.
Having descended from the mountains at the end of the trip, biologist James Kempton found the images of the small creature walking through the forest undergrowth on the last memory card retrieved from more than 80 remote cameras.
‘There was a great sense of euphoria, and also relief having spent so long in the field with no reward until the very final day,’ he said, describing the moment he first saw the footage with collaborators from Indonesian conservation group Yappenda.
‘I shouted out to my colleagues that were still remaining… and said “we found it, we found it”. I ran in from my desk to the living room and hugged the guys.’
Echidnas share their name with a half-woman, half-serpent Greek mythological creature, and were described by the team as shy, nocturnal burrow-dwellers who are notoriously difficult to find.
Attenborough's long-beaked echidna: the lowdown
Scientific name Zaglossus attenboroughi
Last seen 1961
Status Critically endangered
Looks like A very weird animal! The echidna is a little like a long-legged hedgehog with a long toothless snout and mole-like feet
What’s special about it? Many things, but in particular it is one of just five surviving species of monotreme – egg-laying mammals
‘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,’ said Kempton.
There are just three other species of echidna, found in Australia and lowland New Guinea.
The only other monotreme is the duck-billed platypus.
Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna is one of 25 animals on the conservation charity Re:Wild’s ‘Most Wanted’ list, part of its Search for Lost Species programme.
Previously rediscovered species include the Somali sengi, or elephant shrew, and the Fernandina giant tortoise.
Kempton’s team survived an earthquake, malaria and even a leech attached to an eyeball during their trip. They worked with the local village Yongsu Sapari to navigate and explore the remote terrain of northeastern Papua.
The echidna is embedded in the local culture, including a tradition that states conflicts are resolved by sending one party to a disagreement into the forest to search for the mammal and another to the ocean to find a marlin, according to Yongsu Sapari elders cited by the university.
Both creatures were seen as so difficult to find that it would often take decades or a generation to locate them, but, once found, the animals symbolised the end of the conflict and a return to harmonious relationships.
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