Tachyglossus aculeatus
(G. K. Shaw, 1792)
Short-beaked Echidna
Taxonomy
| Subclass | : Yinotheria |
| Infraclass | : Australosphenida |
| Order | : Monotremata |
| Family | : Tachyglossidae |
| Genus | : Tachyglossus |
Species status
Authority citation
Shaw, G.K. 1792-07. [Fascicle XXXVI]. Pp. pl. 108–pl. 110 in Shaw, G.K. 1791-1792. The Naturalist's Miscellany: or, coloured figures of natural objects; drawn and described immediately from nature. Vol. 3. Nodder, London, not continuously paginated pp.
Authority publication link
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/59564684Original name as described
Myrmecophaga aculeata
Other common names
Australian Echidna · Short-nosed Echidna · Spiny Anteater · Bristly Echidna · Kangaroo Island Echidna
Type locality
“New Holland [= Sydney]”, New South Wales, Australia.
Biogeographic realm
Australasia
Country distribution
Australia · Indonesia · Papua New Guinea
Subregion distribution
Australia(SA,TAS,NT,NSW,WA,VIC,ACT,QLD) · Indonesia(PP)
Distribution notes
Continental Australia, including Tasmania, Groote Eylandt, and Bigge, Mua (Hitchcock et al. 2014), Dunk, Magnetic, Fraser, North Stradbroke, King, Flinders, and Kangaroo Is; coastal and highland regions of SE and E New Guinea (including Markham Valley), both C and S Papua New Guinea and SE Papua Province, Indonesia.
Distribution references
Hitchcock, G., Conaty, S., Fell, D., Gordon, G., Reis, T., & Stanton, D. (2014). Range extension of the short-beaked echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus (Monotremata: Tachyglossidae) and the northern brown bandicootIsoodon macrourus (Marsupialia: Peramelidae) in Queensland: Mua (Moa Island), Torres Strait. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 59, 1-7.
Taxonomy notes
Five subspecies have been defined based on morphological variation, but the taxonomy of the species has not been revised using modern methods. It is likely that there are multiple taxa within _T. aculeatus_ as currently defined considering the degree of morphological variation within the species, but further research is needed to determine if these represent species or subspecies. The only molecular data available from across the distribution of the species is a single mitochondrial gene used to identify source populations of captive and trafficked animals, but this data indicates that there are multiple divergent mitochondrial clades across the species distribution (Summerell et al. 2019). Five subspecies are recognized here pending a taxonomic revision: _T. a. aculeatus_, _T. a. acanthion_, _T. a. lawesii_, _T. a. multiaculeatus_, and _T. a. setosus_.
Taxonomy notes citation
Rismiller, P. D., & Grutzner, F. (2019). Tachyglossus aculeatus (Monotremata: Tachyglossidae). Mammalian Species, 51(980), 75-91. · Summerell, A. E., Frankham, G. J., Gunn, P., & Johnson, R. N. (2019). DNA based method for determining source country of the short beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) in the illegal wildlife trade. Forensic science international, 295, 46-53.
IUCN Red List status
Least Concern
Species Permalink
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Names and synonyms
Present and past (if available) associated names to the species. Click on a name to view its details. If the list is long, scroll down to see more.
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