Palaeontologists have used an Ice Age fossil found 120 years ago in an underground cave to reveal extinct giant echidnas roamed south-eastern Australia during the Pleistocene Epoch, filling a major knowledge gap in the continent's prehistoric fauna.
New research by Museums Victoria Research Institute scientists Tim Ziegler and Jeremy Lockett in the Australasian palaeontology journal Alcheringa has identified the extinct Owen’s Giant Echidna, Megalibgwilia owenii , among fossils collected at ‘Foul Air Cave’, Buchan, Victoria. The fragmentary skull—thought to have been among the first megafauna fossils retrieved from the renowned Buchan Caves—fills a gap of over 1,000 kilometres between previous finds.
The extinct Megalibgwilia owenii grew up to a metre long and weighed in at 15 kilograms—as much as a four-year-old toddler. Its name combines the Ancient Greek ‘mega’, meaning great or mighty, with the Wemba Wemba word ‘libgwil’, meaning echidna.
Fossils of Megalibgwilia owenii , which was first described in detail in the 1990s, had previously been found scattered across the continent from Western Australia into Tasmania and southern New South Wales. The giant echidna’s seeming absence from Victoria was a conundrum, given the region’s suitable habitat and rich fossil localities.
Unexpectedly the solution to this mystery lay in plain sight: the newly described fossil was found not during fieldwork but in Museums Victoria’s Palaeontology Collection. Ziegler first sighted the fossil in 2021 and used historical archives to show it had been retrieved in a 1907 expedition to the cave by museum officer and naturalist Mr Frank Spry.
‘Museum collections preserve the link between science, heritage and people,’ said lead author Tim Ziegler, Collection Manager of Vertebrate Palaeontology at Museums Victoria Research Institute. ‘Over a century ago, Spry along with scientists and locals investigated Buchan’s caves with little more than ropes and kerosene lamps, and they inspired us to carry on their work.’
After recognising the unusual skull, Ziegler and Lockett (a Deakin University Honours student) measured and 3D scanned modern and fossil echidnas in museum collections across Australia. The fossil’s distinctive straight-beaked snout—used to dig the hard soils of Ice Age Australia and crush large insect prey—confirmed the specimen’s identity. Ziegler also revisited Foul Air Cave with Parks Victoria and the Victorian Speleological Association to assess the newly significant site.
‘Previous research by Museums Victoria has shown the Buchan Caves preserve an exceptional record of Australia’s unique megafauna, including the short-faced kangaroo Simosthenurus occidentalis and the giant marsupial Palorchestes azael ,’ said Ziegler. ‘The next amazing discovery could come from inside the museum, from continued fieldwork, or the keen eyes of a citizen scientist. I can’t wait to find out.’
The research highlights the continuing scientific value of historical museum collections, and the importance of sustained investment in collection-based research to unlock new discoveries about Australia. Megalibgwilia owenii can also be seen at Melbourne Museum, featured in Gandel Gondwana Garden in the Resilient Bushland section.
Acknowledgements : Research at Foul Air Cave was carried out under the Parks Victoria Access Agreement ‘Conserving Vertebrate Fossil Heritage in East Gippsland Caves’.
The paper, The first Victorian record of Owen’s Giant Echidna Megalibgwilia owenii from Buchan Caves in East Gippsland, Australia , by Tim Ziegler and Jeremy Lockett, is published in Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology (2026)..
DOWNLOAD MEDIA KIT WITH 3D SCANS, FOSSIL IMAGES, FOUL AIR CAVE AND PALAEOART HERE
Alcheringa An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology
Commentary/editorial
Animals
The first Victorian record of Owen’s Giant Echidna Megalibgwilia owenii from Buchan Caves in East Gippsland, Australia
14-Apr-2026
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.