Zaglossus bartoni subsp. diamondi Flannery &amp; Groves, 1998, n. ssp.
Creators: name: T. F. Flannery
name: C. P. Groves
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 1998
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Monotremata
Tachyglossidae
Zaglossus
Zaglossus bartoni
Zaglossus bartoni diamondi

description: <b>(</b> Appendix <b>1,</b> Figs 8 <b>-</b> 9 <b>)</b> <b>Holotype:</b> AM M7955, skin with skull inside. Wissel <b>(</b> Paniai <b>)</b> Lakes area. Coll D.F. McMichael 15 May 1957. Dr McMichael has informed T.F.F. <b>(</b> pers. comm. <b>)</b> that the specimen was captured in the high mountains to the east of the lake, and was alive when he first examined it. <b>Etymology:</b> For Professor Jared Diamond of the University of California, who, through his writings and research, has contributed enormously to our understanding of the biology of Melanesia. <b>Diagnosis:</b> The largest <i>Zaglossus</i>, invariably possessing five claws on the forefeet. but variably four or five on the hindfeet. Significantly larger <b>(</b> at 0.05 <b>)</b> in all cranial dimensions than <i>Z</i>. <i>b. smeenki</i>, and in all but IOW, BIMAST and RH than <i>Z</i>. <i>b. bartoni</i>, and all but IOW than <i>Z</i>. <i>b. clunius</i>. The depression between the rostrum and the braincase, usual for other subspecies, is generally lacking in this subspecies. In this it resembles <i>Z</i>. <i>bruijnii.</i> <b> <i>Distribution</i>: The</b> mountains of central New Guinea, from the ranges on the western side of the Paniai Lakes, Irian Jaya in the west, to the <b>Kratke</b> Range in the eastern <b>Highlands</b> of <b>Papua</b> New Guinea <i>in</i> the east <b>(</b> sample 4 <b>).</b> In the Telefomin area it occurs as low as 1,300 metres elevation on the northern side of the central cordillera <b>(</b> Flannery and Seri 1990 <b>),</b> while near <b>Mt</b> Carstensz it has been recorded at 4,150 m <b>(</b> Harrer 1964 <b>). It</b> seems to be particularly common in alpine meadows in the Carstensz area. Specimens seen; 15 <b>adult</b> and 3 juvenile skulls, 4 skins. <b>Description.</b> The skull is <b>large</b> and the rostrum robust <b>(</b> Fig. 8 <b>).</b> The fur of the holotype is dense and extremely <b>dark brown, almost</b> black, on the body. A few <i>spines</i> are visible through the dense <b>fur</b> of the <b>back.</b> The fur lightens to a reddish brown on the <b>extremities</b> of the <b>limbs.</b> The <b>spines are almost</b> entirely white, although <b>some</b> have a minute dark tip. All <b>limbs have</b> five claws, <b>except</b> the left foot, which has <b>four.</b> The venter, which lacks spines, <i>is</i> densely furred, the <b>fur being</b> blackish at the tip <b>and</b> grey at the root. The skin of the paws, tail <b>and</b> beak is blackish brown, as are the claws. Other individuals differ <b>in</b> colour. AMNH 190859, for example, <i>is</i> a rich mahogany colour, the fur grading to reddish-yellow with some whitish hairs on the limbs and face. <b>Discussion.</b> <i>Zaglossus bartoni diamondi</i> has the widest distribution of any <i>Zaglossus</i>. Despite this, it has remained poorly-known and poorly represented in museum collections. <b>It</b> <i>is</i> the largest known living monotreme. A captive <b>male</b> from the Kubor Range, which was <b>held at</b> Taronga Zoo, <b>reached</b> a <b>maximum</b> weight of 16.5 kilograms. <b>It</b> had been <b>held</b> <i>in</i> captivity <b>for</b> 12 years when weighed. Its distribution is <b>almost identical to</b> those of several other mammals of the upper montane forest, including <i>Neophascogale lorentzii</i> <b>and</b> <i>Pseudochirulus mayeri.</i>
description: Published as part of <i>T. F. Flannery &amp; C. P. Groves, 1998, A revision of the genus Zaglossus (Monotremata, Tachyglossidae), with description of new species and subspecies, pp. 367-396 in Mammalia 62 (3)</i> on pages 385-387, DOI: 10.1515/mamm.1998.62.3.367, http://zenodo.org/record/270023
description: {"references": ["Flannery, T. F. and L. Seri, 1990. - The mammals of southern West Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, their distribution and abundance, with notes on the zoogeography of northern New Guinea. Rec. Aust. Mus., 42: 173 - 208.", "Harrer, H., 1964. - / come from the stone age. Rupert Hart-Davis, London."]}