First Study of Rare Egg-Laying Mammal

Echidna_450x350 An elusive nocturnal mammal has finally been studied.

Science Daily reports:

A Wildlife Conservation Society research intern working in the wilds of Papua New Guinea has successfully completed what many other field biologists considered “mission impossible”—the first study of a rare egg-laying mammal called the long-beaked echidna.

The long-beaked echidna is found only in New Guinea and is a member of the monotremes, a primitive order of mammals that forced zoologists to change their very definitions of what a mammal is. Unlike all other mammals, monotremes like the echidna (also called the spiny anteater) and the better known platypus lay eggs.

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Published: July 7, 2009