More than six decades after it was last observed, a team of researchers has rediscovered one of the planet’s most peculiar mammals. This creature, known as Sir David’s zaglossus or Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna, exhibits a remarkable blend of traits, including laying eggs. The discovery was captured in the Cyclops Mountains of Indonesia’s Papua province, a region long celebrated for its rugged, largely untouched landscapes and rare wildlife. These photographs mark the first recorded sighting of this echidna in the wild, underscoring its status as a true rarity in the natural world.
Recorded by science only once before, in 1961, the Attenborough long-beaked echidna is a monotreme, a small but ancient group of egg-laying mammals that also includes the platypus. This species is one of just five living monotreme species, representing a unique branch of the animal family tree that has endured for millions of years.
Echidnas are notoriously hard to spot. They are nocturnal, dwell in burrows, and are notoriously shy. The species has not been observed outside the Cyclops Mountains and is currently listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
To search for it, the team laid out more than 80 remote-controlled cameras, undertaken several ascents into the mountains, and logged over 11,000 meters of climbing in total. Across their almost four weeks in the forest, the echidna remained elusive until the final day when the memory cards in the cameras filled up and the long-awaited images were finally secured. The identification of the species was later confirmed by a senior mammalogist and director of the Australian Museum Research Institute, Professor Kristofer Helgen.
Oxford University biologist James Kempton, who designed and led the expedition, described the animal in vivid terms. He noted that Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna has the spines of a hedgehog, the elongated snout of an anteater, and the sturdy legs of a mole. Its striking appearance reflects its placement in the monotreme lineage, an ancient egg-laying group that diverged from other mammals around 200 million years ago. The animal’s difference from other mammals is thus a window into a long, branching history of mammalian evolution.
The journey to the discovery benefited from strong local collaboration. The team, with the support of YAPENDA, spent years building relationships with the Yongsu Sapari community on the northern edge of the Cyclops Mountains. Trust and mutual knowledge were the foundation of their work, enabling researchers to navigate challenging terrain and to explore tracts of land that had not seen human presence before. This cooperative approach helped ensure safety in a region known for its rugged and potentially dangerous landscapes.
Other discoveries
Beyond the echidna search, the expedition carried out the first broad assessment of invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals in the Cyclops Mountains. By blending rigorous scientific methods with the forest expertise of Papuan team members, the researchers uncovered several new findings, including multiple insect species never before described by science and the rediscovery of Mayr’s honeycreeper, a bird that has captivated scientists since 2008 and is named in honor of the renowned evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr.
Another striking result was the identification of a totally new species of terrestrial and arboreal shrimp. The expedition’s chief entomologist, Leónidas-Romanos Davranoglou, remarked on the surprise of finding this shrimp in the forest’s heart, far from its typical coastal habitat. The discovery expands the known diversity of forest ecosystems in the Cyclops region and raises questions about how such species adapt to life away from shorelines.
Researchers also noted a surprising subterranean reserve of life, including several blind species, suggesting that the Cyclops Mountains harbor a hidden richness that remains largely unexplored. The finds point to a landscape where many niches remain to be studied and understood, offering a fresh look at biodiversity in this isolated corner of the world. The full story of these discoveries has been shared by researchers who contributed to the expedition and by institutions that supported the work, including insights reported by Phys.org in late 2023.
More information on these findings highlights how reconnaissance in remote forest regions can reveal unexpected complexity in ecosystems. The Cyclops Mountains continue to be a focal point for scientists aiming to map life in habitats that challenge our understanding of biological diversity and evolution.