Zaglossus, from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
ζα (''za''), from διά (''diá''), meaning "across", and γλῶσσα (''glôssa''), meaning "tongue", known as the long-beaked echidnas make up one of the two extant
genera
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...
of
echidna
Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the Family (biology), family Tachyglossidae , living in Australia and New Guinea. The four Extant taxon, extant species of echidnas ...
s: there are three
extant
Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to:
* Extant hereditary titles
* Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English
* Exta ...
species, all living in
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
.
They are medium-sized, solitary mammals covered with coarse hair and spines made of
keratin
Keratin () is one of a family of structural fibrous proteins also known as ''scleroproteins''. It is the key structural material making up Scale (anatomy), scales, hair, Nail (anatomy), nails, feathers, horn (anatomy), horns, claws, Hoof, hoove ...
. They have short, strong limbs with large claws, and are
powerful diggers. They forage in
leaf litter
Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...
on the
forest floor
The forest floor, also called detritus or wikt:duff#Noun 2, duff, is the part of a forest ecosystem that mediates between the living, aboveground portion of the forest and the mineral soil, principally composed of dead and decaying plant matter ...
, eating
earthworm
An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (or subclass, depending on the author) Oligochaeta. In classical systems, they we ...
s and
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
s.
The extant species are:
*
Western long-beaked echidna
The western long-beaked echidna (''Zaglossus bruijnii'') is one of the four Extant taxon, extant echidnas and one of three species of ''Zaglossus'' that occurs in New Guinea. Originally described as ''Tachyglossus bruijnii'', this is the type spe ...
(''Z. bruijni''), of the highland forests;
*
Attenborough's long-beaked echidna
''Zaglossus attenboroughi'', also known as Attenborough's long-beaked echidna or locally as Payangko, is one of three species from the genus ''Zaglossus'' that inhabits the island of New Guinea. It lives in the Cyclops Mountains, which are near ...
(''Z. attenboroughi''), discovered by Western science in 1961 (described in 1998) and preferring a still higher habitat;
*
Eastern long-beaked echidna
The eastern long-beaked echidna (''Zaglossus bartoni''), also known as Barton's long-beaked echidna, is one of three species from the genus ''Zaglossus'' to occur in New Guinea. It is found mainly in the eastern half at elevations between .
Desc ...
(''Z. bartoni''), of which four distinct subspecies have been identified.
The Eastern species is listed as vulnerable, while the Attenborough's and western long-beaked echidna species are listed as
Critically Endangered
An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...
by the
IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...
.
A number of extinct species were known in the genus, but they are currently treated as members of their own genera, such as ''
Murrayglossus
''Murrayglossus'' is an extinct genus of echidna from the Pleistocene of Western Australia. It contains a single species, ''Murrayglossus hacketti'', also called Hackett's giant echidna. Though only from a few bones, researchers suggest that '' ...
'' and ''
Megalibgwilia
''Megalibgwilia'' is a genus of echidna known only from Australian fossils that incorporates the oldest-known echidna species. The genus ranged from the Pliocene until the late Pleistocene, becoming extinct about 50,000 years ago. ''Megalibgwilia ...
''.
General information
The long-beaked echidna is larger-bodied than the
short-beaked and has fewer, shorter
spine
Spine or spinal may refer to:
Science Biology
* Spinal column, also known as the backbone
* Dendritic spine, a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite
* Thorns, spines, and prickles, needle-like structures in plants
* Spine (zoology), ...
s scattered among its coarse hairs. The
snout
A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, Rostrum (anatomy), rostrum, beak or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the n ...
is two-thirds of the head's length and curves slightly downward. There are five
digits on both hind and forefeet, but on the former, only the three middle toes are equipped with
claw
A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or Arthro ...
s. Like the other species of echidna, long-beaked echidnas have
spur
A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...
s on their hind legs. These spurs are
vestigial
Vestigiality is the retention, during the process of evolution, of genetically determined structures or attributes that have lost some or all of the ancestral function in a given species. Assessment of the vestigiality must generally rely on co ...
; part of a repressed
venom system akin to the one on the
platypus
The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypi ...
. Male spurs are nonfunctional and females usually lose their spurs as they age.
Basal traits
The breeding female develops a temporary abdominal
brood patch
A brood patch, also known as an incubation patch in older literature, is a patch of featherless skin on the underside of birds during the nesting season. Feathers act as inherent insulators and prevent efficient incubation, to which brood patches ...
, in which her egg is
incubated and in which the newborn young (or puggle) remains in safety as it feeds and develops. Since they reproduce by laying eggs which are incubated outside of the mother's body it is accompanied by the
prototheria
Prototheria (, ; from Ancient Greek "first" and "wild animal") is an obsolete subclass of mammals which includes the living Monotremata and to which a variety of extinct groups, including Morganucodonta, Docodonta, Triconodonta and Multitub ...
n lactation process, which shows that they are
basal mammals. The long-beaked echidna has a short
weaning
Weaning is the process of gradually introducing an infant human or other mammal to what will be its adult diet while withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk. In the United Kingdom, UK, weaning primarily refers to the introduction of solid ...
period. During this time milk is their only source of nutrition and protection for the hatchlings; they are
altricial
Precocial species in birds and mammals are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. They are normally nidifugous, meaning that they leave the nest shortly after birth or hatching. Altricial ...
and immunologically naive.
The long-beaked echidna's limb posture is sprawled, similar to extant reptiles like
lizard
Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...
s and
crocodilia
Crocodilia () is an order of semiaquatic, predatory reptiles that are known as crocodilians. They first appeared during the Late Cretaceous and are the closest living relatives of birds. Crocodilians are a type of crocodylomorph pseudosuchia ...
ns. Although the stances between the animal groups are similar, the way the limbs move are very different between the
clade
In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...
s. The echidna swings its limbs at a 45 degree angle while a lizard's is more horizontal. They walk with two legs on one side of the body moving in unison.
The long-beaked echidna's walk presents multiple differences from a lizard's. An echidna's walking pattern is more upright than a lizard's, this represents a pattern closer to a parasagittal kind of therian. Echidnas and therians both have a dynamic equilibration rather than a static one.
Behavior
These echidnas are primarily
nocturnal
Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatur ...
; foraging for its
insect food
Insects as food or edible insects are insect species used for human consumption. Over 2 billion people are estimated to eat insects on a daily basis. Globally, more than 2,000 insect species are considered edible, though far fewer are discussed ...
on the
forest floor
The forest floor, also called detritus or wikt:duff#Noun 2, duff, is the part of a forest ecosystem that mediates between the living, aboveground portion of the forest and the mineral soil, principally composed of dead and decaying plant matter ...
. These animals are not usually found foraging in the daylight. The long-beaked echidna establish and are commonly found in
dens or burrows.
A study published in 2015 shows that ''Zaglossus spp.'' in captivity exhibited "
handedness
In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...
" when performing certain behaviors related to
foraging
Foraging is searching for wild food resources. It affects an animal's fitness because it plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and reproduce. Foraging theory is a branch of behavioral ecology that studies the foraging behavi ...
,
locomotion, and male-female interactions. The results of this study suggest that handedness in mammals is a
basal trait
In phylogenetics, basal is the direction of the ''base'' (or root) of a rooted phylogenetic tree or cladogram. The term may be more strictly applied only to nodes adjacent to the root, or more loosely applied to nodes regarded as being close to th ...
rather than one
derived several times in extant mammals.
Little is known
about the life of these rarely seen animals, but it is believed to have habits similar to those of the short-beaked echidna; unlike them, however, the long-beaked echidnas feed primarily on
earthworm
An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (or subclass, depending on the author) Oligochaeta. In classical systems, they we ...
s rather than
ant
Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...
s, as they live in much more
humid
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity depe ...
environments than the smaller ''Tachyglossus'' echidna. The population of echidnas in New Guinea is declining because of
forest clearing
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. About ...
and
overhunting
Overexploitation, also called overharvesting or ecological overshoot, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to ...
, and the animal is much in need of protection. In November 2023, a ''Zaglossus attenboroughi'' was first recorded alive on video in Indonesia's
Cyclops Mountains
The Cyclops Mountains () are located to the west of Jayapura and north of Lake Sentani and the town of Sentani, in the Indonesian province of Papua. In Indonesian, the range is also known as Dafonsoro or in Sentani language, Dobonsolo.
Geogra ...
, the first confirmed sightings of an individual in 62 years.
Taxonomy
''Zaglossus attenboroughi''
* Habitat: known only from the
Cyclops Mountains
The Cyclops Mountains () are located to the west of Jayapura and north of Lake Sentani and the town of Sentani, in the Indonesian province of Papua. In Indonesian, the range is also known as Dafonsoro or in Sentani language, Dobonsolo.
Geogra ...
of
Jayapura Regency
Jayapura Regency is one of the regencies (''kabupaten'') in Papua Province of Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Paci ...
,
Papua, Indonesia
* Period:
Holocene
The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...
* Critically endangered
[ Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as critically endangered.]
''Zaglossus bartoni''
* Habitat: on the
central cordillera between the
Paniai Lakes
The Paniai Lakes, originally known as the Wissel Lakes, are the three large, freshwater lakes in Central Papua, Indonesia: Paniai, Tigi, and Tage. Lakes Paniai and Tage are located in the Paniai Regency, while Lake Tigi is located in Deiyai Regen ...
and the
Maoke Mountains
The Maoke Mountains is a mountain range in the province of Central Papua and Highland Papua. It extends over 692 km and is composed of the Sudirman and Jayawijaya ranges. It is part of the larger New Guinea Highlands
The New Guinea Highla ...
in
Central Papua
Central Papua, officially the Central Papua Province () is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province located in the central region of Western New Guinea. It was formally established on 25 July 2022 from the former eight western regencies of ...
&
Highland Papua
Highland Papua () is a provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, which roughly follows the borders of the Papuan customary region of Lano-Pago (often shortened to La Pago). It covers an area of and had a population of 1,467,050 according to ...
in Indonesia to the
Nanneau Range of the
Oro Province
Oro Province, formerly (and officially still) Northern Province, is a coastal Provinces of Papua New Guinea, province in the Southern Region, Papua New Guinea, Southern Region of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital is Popondetta. The provinc ...
, as well as the
Huon Peninsula
Huon Peninsula is a large rugged peninsula on the island of New Guinea in Morobe Province, eastern Papua New Guinea. It is named after French explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec. The peninsula is dominated by the steep Saruwaged and Finist ...
in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
* Period:
Holocene
The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...
* Vulnerable
[ Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as critically endangered.]
''Zaglossus bruijni''
* Habitat:
highland forest
Highland Forest is a county park in Fabius, New York. It is part of the Onondaga County Parks system. Proclaimed the "Adirondacks of Central New York," Highland Forest is the oldest county park in Onondaga County. The park has more than of tra ...
s of
Southwest Papua
Southwest Papua (; ) is the 38th provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia to be created, and was split off from West Papua (province), West Papua on 8 December 2022. Despite being named "southwest", this is actually a misnomer and this prov ...
and
West Papua,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
* Period:
Holocene
The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...
* Critically endangered
[ Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as critically endangered]
See also
*
Fossil monotremes
Monotremes () are mammals of the order Monotremata. They are the only group of living mammals that Oviparity, lay eggs, rather than bearing live young. The extant monotreme species are the platypus and the four species of echidnas. Monotremes are ...
*
List of mammal genera
There are currently 1,258 genera, 161 families, 27 orders, and around 5,937 recognized living species of mammal. Mammalian taxonomy is in constant flux as many new species are described and recategorized within their respective genera and families. ...
*
List of recently extinct mammals
Recently extinct mammals are defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as any mammals that have become extinct since the year 1500 CE. Since then, roughly 80 mammal species have become extinct.
Extinction of taxa ...
*
List of prehistoric mammals
This is an incomplete list of prehistoric mammals. It does not include List of mammals, extant mammals or List of extinct mammals, recently extinct mammals. For extinct primate species, see: list of fossil primates.Mikko's Phylogeny Archiv
Ma ...
References
*
External links
* EDGE of Existenc
(''Zaglossus'' spp.)– Saving the World's most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species
* ARKive �
images and movies of the long-beaked echidna (''Zaglossus'' spp.)(Long Necked) Echidna find rewrites natural history books– 'Mount Anderson, West Kimberley'
{{Authority control
Monotremes of New Guinea
Extant Miocene first appearances
Taxa named by Theodore Gill