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Researchers have solved an enigma by rediscovering a massive echidna fossil that had been overlooked in a museum drawer for over a century.
In 2021, paleontologist Tim Ziegler stumbled upon the specimen while sifting through a collection of unidentified fossils at Melbourne Museum.
“While combing through our Buchan fossil collection, a bone in a tray of assorted pieces caught my eye,” Ziegler explained.
“Upon closer inspection, I realized, that’s a giant echidna!” he recounted.
Ziegler has dedicated the past five years to verifying that this discovery indeed belongs to the giant echidna from the Ice Age.
“I worked with colleagues to collect information from public museum collections around Australia,” Ziegler said.
“We looked at fossils of echidnas, as well as modern skeletons and skulls like the long-beaked echidna from New Guinea.”
The fossil was originally discovered in 1907 when museum officer Frank Spry journeyed to a cave near Buchan in East Gippsland.
“It was found deep underground in a place called Foul Air Cave. It’s damp, it’s muddy and it stinks,” Ziegler said.
It’s believed to be the first record of the species in Victoria and is thought to be up to 1 million years old.
“This is the first time we’ve been able to add this giant long-beaked echidna to our deep time fauna of the state,” Ziegler said.
Unlike today’s short-beaked species, the giant echidna, called Megalibgwilia owenii, was up to one metre long and weighed about 16 kilograms.
Its diet was also different – choosing to go after prey rather than nibbling on ants and termites like echidnas do today.
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