Colophon
The animal on the cover of Scala Cookbook is a long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bruijnii, Z. bartoni, and Z. attenboroughi), a genus of three mammal species found only on the island of New Guinea. Weighing up to 35 pounds, long-beaked echidnas are nocturnal insectivores that prefer to live in forests at higher altitudes.
The first specimen was found in 1961 on New Guinea’s Cyclops Mountains, and the entire species was thought to be extinct in that area until evidence of their activity was found in 2007. According to data collected in 1982, only 1.6 echidnas existed per square kilometer of suitable habitat across New Guinea, adding up to a total of 300,000 individuals. Since then, that number has dropped significantly due to habitat loss as large areas are exploited for farming, logging, and mining. Hunting also remains a large problem since the long-beaked echidna is considered a delicacy to locals in Papua New Guinea. The low population numbers and rapid destruction of habitat make the long-beaked echidna an endangered species, while the short-beaked variety fares slightly better in both New Guinea and Australia.
The echidna is classified as a “monotreme,” or a mammal that lays eggs. The mother holds one egg at a time in her body, providing it with nutrients and a place to live after it hatches. The only surviving monotremes are the four species of echidna and the platypus. All of these mammals are native to Australia and New Guinea, although there is evidence that they were once more widespread. With origins in the Jurassic era some 60 million years ago, monotremes offer evidence of mammal evolution away from reptilian forms of reproduction.
Instead of having teeth, echidnas’ tongues are covered in spikes that help draw earthworms and ants into the mouth. The entire body is also covered in fur and spikes that are used for protection; much like a hedgehog, echidnas can curl up into a spiny ball when threatened. Although very little echidna behavior has been observed in the wild, they are believed to be solitary creatures; the short-beaked echidna displays little evidence of grooming, aggression, courting, or maternal behavior. In captivity, these creatures can live up to 30 years.
Many of the animals on O’Reilly covers are endangered; all of them are important to the world. To learn more about how you can help, go to animals.oreilly.com.
The cover image is from Cassell’s Natural History. The cover fonts are URW Typewriter and Guardian Sans. The text font is Adobe Minion Pro; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is Dalton Maag’s Ubuntu Mono.