Century-old fossil shows giant echidnas once lived in Victoria, widening their Australian range

A small fossil bone that sat unnoticed in a museum drawer for more than a century has redrawn Australia’s prehistoric map, confirming that giant echidnas once lived in Victoria and extending the species’ known range across the continent. The specimen belongs to Owen’s giant echidna, Megalibgwilia owenii, an extinct species from the Pleistocene epoch, which began about 2.5 million years ago.

Researchers say the animal grew to about one metre in length and weighed up to 15 kilograms (3.31 pounds), making it nearly twice the size of modern echidnas. The breakthrough came in 2021, when Tim Ziegler, collection manager of vertebrate palaeontology at the Museums Victoria Research Institute, examined a small bone fragment collected in 1907 from Foul Air Cave in the Buchan cave complex in East Gippsland.

Slightly longer than a finger, the piece had likely been mistaken for part of a small kangaroo. Closer inspection revealed a curved palate and internal air passages—features characteristic of an echidna’s beak—and its dimensions pointed to a much larger species than those living today.

Researchers used 3D scans of modern and fossil echidna specimens from museum collections across Australia to compare and confirm the identification. Archival records traced the fossil to an expedition led by museum officer Frank Spry more than a century ago. Scientists say Owen’s giant echidna was comparable in size to modern long‑beaked echidnas (Zaglossus) from New Guinea, but with a more robust skeleton.

Prominent muscle attachments on its limb bones suggest it could exert greater force than today’s echidnas. According to the team, the animal likely used that strength to dig for insect larvae and beetles, and may also have fed on insects such as bogong moths or torn into tree bark to reach hidden prey.

Fossils of Megalibgwilia owenii have previously been found in New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. The Victorian specimen fills a major gap in the fossil record and, researchers say, confirms the species’ wider distribution across prehistoric Australia.