Lost, So Small Amid That Dark

Some species are rare enough — or elusive enough — that we can't tell if they are extinct or not. New Guinea's long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi) has been missing from action (well, missing from the point of view of science) since 1961. In that year, a single museum specimen was collected. It's held at Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands, and, frankly, looks sort of like a bagpipe with claws (see the link in our footnotes).² Since then, it's been considered a "lost species", and regarded by some as critically endangered if not extinct.

However, for many years, indigenous reports of the species in the Cyclops Mountains persisted, and "nose pokes" that are tell-tale signs of echidna feeding have been sighted for some time. A collaboration of several groups in 2023 used these stories and sightings as guidelines to lay more than 80 wildlife-camera "traps" out in the wild.³

It wasn't easy. In spite of malaria, earthquakes, and challenging terrain, the cameras were in place for four weeks. And, on the last day — with the last memory card in the cameras — the research project got images of long-beaked echidnas in the wild.

The photographs are absolutely great: lots of detail, showing features that positively distinguish the species. They even include three little motion-capture movies, too. Very much worth a look!⁴

And yes, Zaglossus attenboroughi is named after David Attenborough.

Reading

1. The title is taken from William Gibson, Neuromancer (London: Hachette UK, 2016): "Lost, so small amid that dark, hands grown cold, body image fading down corridors of television sky." It seems particularly appropriate, given that hidden cameras helped find the echidna.
2. “Not the Last of His Species after All | Naturalis.” Accessed June 20, 2025. https://www.naturalis.nl/en/follow-our-stories/not-last-of-his-species-after-all.
3. Morib, G., A. Tilker, L.-R. Davranoglou, S. D. Anasari, A. Balázs, P. A. Barnes, M. J. Foote, et al. “Attenborough’s Echidna Rediscovered by Combining Indigenous Knowledge with Camera-Trapping.” Npj Biodiversity 4, no. 1 (May 12, 2025): 19. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44185-025-00086-6.
4. “Photographs of Attenborough’s Echidna and Their Signs. | Npj Biodiversity.” Accessed June 20, 2025. https://www.nature.com/articles/s44185-025-00086-6/figures/2.