With spines like a hedgehog, feet like a mole, and a snout like an anteater, this weird-looking animal is hard to ignore. But that's what it does best, evading scientists for more than half a century to the point where the bizarre-looking hybrid species was thought to be extinct. Now, in the remote, desolate Cyclops Mountains of Indonesia's Papua province, the animal has been spotted sauntering past the view of a motion-triggered camera trap, one of 80 such devices deployed as part of the research project Cyclops Expedition.
The animal is actually Attenborough's long-beaked echidna (Zaglossusattenboroughi), named after beloved British presenter Sir David Attenborough. Previously, Dutch botanist Pieter van Royen had scientifically recorded it only once, in 1961.
"Because of its hybrid appearance, it shares its name with a half-human, half-snake creature from Greek mythology," said biologist James Kempton of the University of Oxford. "The reason it looks so different from other mammals is that it is a member of the order monotremes - egg-laying animals that split off from the rest of the mammalian tree of life about 200 million years ago."
Like its cousin the Australian echidna, this species of echidna is notoriously shy of people and spends most of its time wandering in the dark, often hidden in ground vegetation. It is one of only five remaining monotremes on Earth, along with three other species of echidna and platypus. The echidna is listed as "critically endangered" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and has never been recorded outside the Cyclops Mountains.
The first few expeditions in 2022 gave scientists hope as they discovered unique "nose pokes" in the soil that are a sign of long-beaked animals feeding on ground insects. However, after deploying 80 cameras and climbing to a height of more than 11,000 meters (36,089 feet), which is higher than Mount Everest, after many summits, the Cyclops expedition found no trace around, and the expedition almost gave up.
Finally, they got lucky: On the last day, on the last memory card they retrieved, they not only captured images, but also captured video of the shambling, spike-covered echidna. Although it was difficult to identify, researchers were able to identify it, and its identity was confirmed by Professor Kristofer Helgen of the Australian Museum Research Institute.
The research team works closely with local communities. Echidnas are of great cultural significance to one of these communities, the Dragon-bearded Sapali people, who have lived on the mountain's northern slopes for 18 generations. It is said that when a conflict arises, one side is sent to the mountains in search of echidnas, while the other side heads to the ocean in search of marlins. Because both animals are so hard to find, it often takes decades to find them. Once found, however, these animals symbolize the end of the battle.
"This discovery is the result of a lot of hard work and three-and-a-half years of planning," Kempton said. "A key reason for our success is that, with the help of (Indonesian NGO) YAPPENDA, we spent several years building a relationship with the community of Yongsu Sapali, a village on the northern shore of the Cyclops Mountains. The trust between us was the cornerstone of our success, as they shared with us their knowledge of navigating these rugged mountains, even allowing us to conduct research in lands that had never felt the footsteps of humans."
The echidna is also an EDGE species and is considered 'unique' and endangered. This nocturnal animal has also evolved independently of other mammals for about 200 million years. The team made many other discoveries during this challenging trip: dozens of new insect species, the rediscovery of Ptiloproramayri for the first time since 2008, and a new genus of ground-dwelling and arboreal shrimp.
Leonidas-Romanos Davranoglou of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, lead entomologist on the expedition, said: "We believe that the high rainfall in the Cyclops Mountains means that the humidity is sufficient for these creatures to live entirely on land."
However, it's no walk in the park. The area is known for extremely challenging hikes - researchers found themselves carving new trails through dense jungle where no human had ever set foot before. This is one of the reasons why the Cyclops Mountains are such a treasure trove of new species, as human interference has been so damaging to the natural world compared to what exists outside the region.
During the field trip, Davlanoglu's arm was broken in two places, and someone was infected with malaria. Another team member had even worse luck. His eye was absorbed by leeches for nearly two days before it was removed in the hospital.
Kempton said: "While some might describe the Cyclops as a 'green hell,' I think the scenery here is magical, both fascinating and dangerous, like something out of Tolkien's books. In this environment, the camaraderie among the expedition members is very good, and everyone helps keep morale up. At night, we exchange stories around the campfire, surrounded by the sound of frogs croaking and peeping."
The expedition also collected 75 kilograms (165 pounds) of rock samples and looks forward to discovering more new animal species in future studies. The scientists hope to name their future discoveries after members of the local community.
"Tropical rainforests are one of the most important and most threatened terrestrial ecosystems. We have a responsibility to support our colleagues on the frontline by exchanging knowledge, skills and equipment."
Watch the video below for rare footage that put the echidna back on the world stage.