| Zaglossus hacketti Temporal range: Pleistocene |
|
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Monotremata |
| Family: | Tachyglossidae |
| Genus: | Zaglossus |
| Species: | †Z. hacketti |
| Binomial name | |
| Zaglossus hacketti Glauert, 1914 |
|
Zaglossus hacketti is an extinct species of long-beaked echidna from Western Australia that is dated from the Pleistocene. It is known only from a few bones found in Western Australia. It was the size of a sheep, weighing probably up to 100 kg (220 lb). This makes it the largest monotreme to have ever lived. Due to the lack of cranial material, placement of Z. hacketti into the modern long-beaked echidna genus Zaglossus is uncertain.[1]