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- cross-posted to:
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There is a discussion on Hacker News, but feel free to comment here as well.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Scientists have rediscovered a long-lost species of mammal described as having the spines of a hedgehog, the snout of an anteater and the feet of a mole, in Indonesia’s Cyclops Mountains more than 60 years after it was last recorded.
Having descended from the mountains at the end of the trip, biologist James Kempton found the images of the small creature walking through the forest undergrowth on the last memory card retrieved from more than 80 remote cameras.
“There was a great sense of euphoria, and also relief having spent so long in the field with no reward until the very final day,” he said, describing the moment he first saw the footage with collaborators from Indonesian conservation group YAPPENDA.
Echidnas share their name with a half-woman, half-serpent Greek mythological creature, and were described by the team as shy, nocturnal burrow-dwellers who are notoriously difficult to find.
They worked with the local village Yongsu Sapari to navigate and explore the remote terrain of northeastern Papua.
The echidna is embedded in the local culture, including a tradition that states conflicts are resolved by sending one party to a disagreement into the forest to search for the mammal and another to the ocean to find a marlin, according to Yongsu Sapari elders cited by the university.
The original article contains 396 words, the summary contains 214 words. Saved 46%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Semi click bait title. Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna was last recorded more than 60 years ago However it is listed as critically endangered.
- This species has only been scientifically recorded once before, by a Dutch botanist in 1961.
- A different echidna species is found throughout Australia and lowland New Guinea.
- https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/echidna-fact-sheet/