{"id":588734,"date":"2026-04-17T00:26:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T00:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/588734\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T00:26:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T00:26:19","slug":"massive-15kg-echidnas-once-roamed-south-east-australia-evidence-of-the-bizarre-animals-was-found-120-years-ago-in-a-cave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/588734\/","title":{"rendered":"Massive 15kg echidnas once roamed south-east Australia. Evidence of the bizarre animals was found 120 years ago in a cave"},"content":{"rendered":"

A study, published earlier this week in the journal\u00a0Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, has just revealed the discovery of new fossils belonging to the extinct Owen\u2019s giant echidna (Megalibgwilia owenii). This bizarre, egg-laying mammal lived during the Pleistocene Period more than two million years ago.<\/p>\n

The fragmentary pieces of skull were collected from Foul Air Cave in Buchan, Victoria, in 1907 and later stored in Museums Victoria\u2019s Palaeontology Collection, but only after being recently re-examined were they properly identified as belonging to\u00a0M.owenii\u00a0\u2013 a species that was formally established in 1991.<\/p>\n

The study<\/a>, conducted by Tim Ziegler and Jeremy Lockett from the Museums Victoria Research Institute, has filled a gap of over 1,000km between previous finds of giant echidna<\/a> material, suggesting this 1m-long, 15kg monotreme once roamed Victoria as well as other areas along Australia\u2019s south-east coast.<\/p>\n

Prior to this latest study, specimens of\u00a0M.owenii\u00a0had been found across Australia, from Western Australia to Tasmania. However, specimens from the south-east part of the continent were mysteriously absent. This puzzled many researchers, given the region\u2019s suitable habitat and rich fossil localities.<\/p>\n

In 2021, Ziegler \u2013 the collection manager of vertebrate palaeontology at Museums Victoria \u2013 came across the skull fragments in a tray of unsorted fossils that had been excavated during a 1907 expedition to the cave led by museum officer and naturalist Frank Spry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The skull fragments were found in Foul Air Cave, Buchan, in the early 20th century. Credit: Rob French\/Museums Victoria<\/p>\n

According to Ziegler and co-author Lockett, these skull fragments \u2013 which include the forward-most part of the braincase and part of a snout \u2013 may represent the first megafauna fossils recovered from the famous Buchan Caves.<\/p>\n

“Over a century ago, Spry along with scientists and locals investigated Buchan\u2019s caves with little more than ropes and kerosene lamps, and they inspired us to carry on their work,\u201d said Ziegler.<\/p>\n

After picking out the skull fragments, Ziegler and Lockett conducted 3D scans of them and compared the results with specimens from other\u00a0echidna<\/a>\u00a0species, both living and extinct. This confirmed the identity of the specimen and distinguished its distinctively shallow, broadly arched palate from those of other species.<\/p>\n

While\u00a0M.owenii\u00a0was likely a similar size to the long-beaked echidnas (Zaglossus) that live in the tropics of New Guinea today, its bones were a lot more robust. Zieger believes that\u00a0M.owenii\u00a0was an even more adept digger than today\u2019s species and used strong, clawed limbs to turn over soils and forage for food.<\/p>\n

\"MegalibgwiliaA fragment of a snout from an Owen\u2019s giant echidna. Credit: Museums Victoria<\/p>\n

This latest study highlights the value of museum collections and the importance of sustained investment in collection-based research. Today, many scientifically significant discoveries are being made by\u00a0re-examining material excavated decades or even centuries before<\/a>, rather than through new field expeditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuseum collections preserve the link between science, heritage and people,\u201d said Ziegler. \u201cThe next amazing discovery could come from inside the museum, from continued fieldwork, or the keen eyes of a citizen scientist. I can\u2019t wait to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Top image: Owen\u2019s giant echidna was one of the largest of its kind. Credit: Chris Edser<\/p>\n

More amazing wildlife stories from around the world<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A study, published earlier this week in the journal\u00a0Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, has just revealed the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588735,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-588734","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}