Did Zaglossus bruijnii occur in the Kimberley region of Western Australia?

Abstract

A 2012 paper reported the discovery of a specimen of Zaglossus bruijnii with a label attached that recorded that it had been collected at Mount Anderson, in the south-west Kimberley region of Western Australia, in 1901. Based on several lines of evidence, I argue that this distinctive long-beaked echidna is not, and has not been, part of the Kimberley region’s modern mammal fauna. The simplest and most plausible explanation is that the tag on the specimen came from another animal.