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Source– This post “Attenborough echidna” is based on the article “Elusive Attenborough echidna rediscovered in Indonesia” published in “The Hindu” on 10 November 2023.
Why in the News?
An elusive echidna after disappearing for six decades has been rediscovered during expedition by researchers in a remote part of Indonesia. It was last seen in 1961.
What is Attenborough echidna?
| Scientific Nomenclature | Zaglossus attenboroughi– a kind of long-beaked echidna named for famed British naturalist David Attenborough. |
| IUCN Protection status | Critically Endangered (Last seen 1961) |
| Characteristics | 1. Nocturnal and shy 2. 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. 3. It rolls up into a spiny ball when it feels threatened, resembling the behaviour of a hedgehog (spiny mammal). 4. It weighs from 5 to 10 kilograms. 5. They have 5 claws on each foot, and adult males have a small non-venomous spur on the inside of each ankle. 6. Adults have no teeth, but the tongue is covered in teeth-like spikes |
| Habitat | It lives in the Cyclops Mountains, which are near the cities of Sentani and Jayapura in the Indonesian province of Papua. |
| Conservation Efforts | 1. A campaign was initiated by local communities to educate the Papuan people about the endangered echidnas. 2. 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. |
What are other findings during expedition of Researchers?
1. New kind of tree-dwelling shrimp
2. A kind of honeyeater bird not recorded since 2008
UPSC Syllabus- Environment (Species in news)
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