Scientists rediscover Attenborough’s echidna after 60 year hiatus

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. Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna, named after British naturalist David Attenborough, was photographed for the first time by a trail camera on the last day of a four-week expedition led by Oxford University scientists. 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. Subscribe to The Telegraph with our special offer: just £1 for 3 months. Start your free trial now: Get the latest headlines: and are websites of The Telegraph, the UK’s best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture. #attenborough #echidna #oxforduniversity