There has only ever been one specimen of Zaglossus attenboroughi collected in 1961. Since then, there have been sightings of this species by members of the communities surrounding the Cyclops Mountains; these community members call the species payangko.
Sir David's long-beaked echidnas most likely relies on their sense of smell to find worms and larvae to eat. They use their beak to find food. Like other echidnas, they are likely to use electroreception to find food. They have electroreceptors on the tips of their snouts, which they can press to the ground or other objects to detect living organisms and to perceive the environment.
Forms of social communication are unknown in this species.
Communication Channels: tactile ; chemical
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; chemical
The species was thought to be extinct until 2007, when an expedition led by EDGE team members discovered evidence that Zaglossus attenboroughi still existed. Currently, Sir David’s long-beaked echidnas are critically endangered and there is a conservation effort underway where the original specimen was found. The Cyclops Mountains Strict Nature Reserve was created to protect the habitat of Zaglossus attenboroughi. Currently, it is believed that hunting and loss of habitat due to farming and mining are the main reasons for the threat to their survival.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: appendix ii
Because the adult males of Zaglossus attenboroughi have a spur on each ankle, they can cause some harm to humans by sticking them with the spurs. However, the spurs are not venomous.
Negative Impacts: injures humans (bites or stings)
Sir David's long-beaked echidnas have cultural importance in the communities surrounding the Cyclops Mountains. Sometimes disputes are resolved by having the two fighting parties share a meal of echidna. At other times, people are punished by either having to pay a fine or by having to find an echidna in the mountains.
Positive Impacts: food
Ecological roles of this species are completely unknown, as they have never been seen alive in the wild.
It is mostly unknown what Sir David's long-beaked echidnas feed on in the wild, but it is thought that they feed on worms. Researchers have identified holes in the ground made by their rostra as they poke for food.
Animal Foods: insects; terrestrial non-insect arthropods; terrestrial worms
Primary Diet: carnivore (Insectivore , Eats non-insect arthropods, Vermivore)
Zaglossus attenboroughi is endemic to Papua, New Guinea. Sir David's long-beaked echidnas may once have been distributed along the North Coast Ranges, but they are now restricted to the tops of the Cyclops Mountains near Jayapura.
Biogeographic Regions: australian (Native )
Other Geographic Terms: island endemic
Sir David's long-beaked echidnas live in forested mountainous areas of the Cyclops Mountains, an area of approximately 50 square kilometers.
Range elevation: 200 to 1700 m.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: rainforest ; mountains
The lifespan of Zaglossus attenboroughi is unknown.
Sir David's long-beaked echidnas are the smallest echidna species, weighing 2 to 3 kilograms. The rostrum is approximately 70 mm long and is somewhat straighter than other echidna species. The short rostrum and their size makes them appear similar to short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus). They have 5 claws on each foot and adult males have a small non-venomous spur on the inside of each ankle. Adult females lack these spurs. The fur is distinctive, short, fine, and dense, unlike other echidnas, and raw umber brown in color. There is short fur that covers the few spines on the middle back of this species. The spines are almost white and are most dense nearest the tail. Adults have no teeth, but the tongue is covered in teeth-like spikes. Like other Zaglossus species, they have no external genitalia; making sex determination difficult.
Range mass: 10 (high) kg.
Average mass: 2-3 kg.
Average length: 30 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
It is unknown if Zaglossus attenboroughi has any natural predators.
Not much is known about the reproductive or mating behaviors of Zaglossus attenboroughi because only one specimen has been found to date. It is unknown when these animals breed or whether they are promiscuous.
It is thought that the reproductive behavior might be similar to that of other Zaglossus species. The number of offspring during a breeding cycle is unknown, as is the gestation period and the age at which sexual maturity is reached. Most likely, as with other Zaglossus species, when females reach sexual maturity the non-venomous spurs on their ankles usually disappear.
Breeding interval: Breeding interval is unknown.
Breeding season: Breeding season is unknown.
Key Reproductive Features: semelparous ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
It is thought that Sir David's long-beaked echidnas females care for and protect their young after laying the eggs and after their hatching. Young stay in dens. Not much else is known about parental involvement in the species.
Parental Investment: altricial ; female parental care ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)
Sir David's long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi), also known as Attenborough's long-beaked echidna or the Cyclops long-beaked echidna, is one of the three species from the genus Zaglossus that occurs in New Guinea. It is named in honour of naturalist Sir David Attenborough. It lives in the Cyclops Mountains, which are near the cities of Sentani and Jayapura in the Indonesian province of Papua.
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, and can be differentiated by the spurs on its hind legs.
The echidna is not a social animal, and comes together with its own kind only once a year, in July, to mate. The female will lay the eggs after about eight days, and the babies will stay in the mother's pouch for around eight weeks or until their spines develop. The creature is nocturnal, and can roll up into a spiny ball when it feels threatened, somewhat in the manner of a hedgehog. It weighs from 5 to 10 kilograms (11 to 22 lb).[4] Subsequent systematic revision of Zaglossus by Flannery & Groves (1998) identified three allopatric species and several subspecies occurring across the island, and these authors erected the new species Z. attenboroughi (Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna) to describe a single echidna specimen (Plate 1) collected in 1961 at 1,600 m near the top of Mount Rara, in the Cyclops Mountains of northern Dutch New Guinea (now the Indonesian province of Papua).
The species was described from a single damaged specimen collected in the Dutch colonial era (c. 1961), and has apparently not been collected since then.[5] Given the ongoing anthropogenic disturbance of the Cyclops Mountain forest habitat, this has raised concern that Z. attenboroughi populations may already be endangered or even locally extirpated. However, biological surveys of Papua province are notoriously incomplete; it is possible that the animal still exists there or in related mountain ranges. The echidna is endangered by hunting and habitat loss. In fact, it was thought to be extinct until some of its "nose pokes" were found in the mountains of New Guinea. These "nose pokes" are very distinctive and result from the echidna's feeding technique.[6]
The diet of this hardy animal consists of earthworms, termites, insect larvae and ants. This animal is so high in the endangered-species list that locals are being educated about the creature and asked to stop their tradition of hunting and killing it to share it with rivals as a peace offering.[7] As reported on July 15, 2007, researchers from EDGE visiting Papua's Cyclops Mountains had recently discovered burrows and tracks thought to be those of Zaglossus attenboroughi. Furthermore, communication with local people revealed that the species had perhaps been seen as recently as 2005.[8] 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.[9] The echidna is among the 25 "most wanted lost" species that are the focus of Global Wildlife Conservation's "Search for Lost Species" initiative.[10]
Sir David's long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi), also known as Attenborough's long-beaked echidna or the Cyclops long-beaked echidna, is one of the three species from the genus Zaglossus that occurs in New Guinea. It is named in honour of naturalist Sir David Attenborough. It lives in the Cyclops Mountains, which are near the cities of Sentani and Jayapura in the Indonesian province of Papua.
