Extract from ABC News
Megalibgwilia owenii was an extinct giant echidna that lived during the Ice Age. (Supplied: Museums Victoria/Chris Edser)
In short:
Researchers have used a fossil found in a Gippsland cave 119 years ago to show that giant echidnas lived in Victoria during the Ice Age.
The discovery fills a major gap in the species' known range and adds new insight into the state's ancient megafauna.
What's next?
Researchers will continue to review historic collections and explore cave systems across Victoria in search of further evidence of the state's lost Ice Age animals.
A fragment of bone found more than a century ago, in an East Gippsland limestone cave once explored by torchlight and rope, is now reshaping what scientists know about Victoria's Ice Age past.
The fossil, a partial skull, reveals the extinct giant echidna Megalibgwilia owenii once roamed the region alongside some of Australia's most extraordinary megafauna.
It was rediscovered in the state collection at Museums Victoria, where it had been preserved since it was first found in 1907 in Foul Air Cave near Buchan, more than four hours east of Melbourne.
Museums Victoria vertebrate palaeontology collection manager Tim Ziegler said the find was as much about revisiting the past as it was about rewriting it.
Tim Ziegler returned to Foul Air Cave at Buchan as part of his investigations. (Supplied: Museums Victoria/Robert French)
"It feels really special to do the fundamental work of building our knowledge and our understanding of just what Victoria was in deep time,"Dr Ziegler said.
Missing puzzle piece
The identification marks the first confirmed evidence of the giant echidna in Victoria, filling a gap of more than 1,000 kilometres between previously known fossil sites in South Australia and New South Wales.
"But until now, you know, this is a missing piece of the puzzle," Dr Ziegler said.
"And in fact, just this one fossil, preserved by random chance in a pitfall trap and then discovered almost by random chance as well — it fills a gap in this long-beaked echidna's range across the entire continent.
"It's actually amazing that one fossil here spans more than 1,000 kilometres of unknown territory for this creature."
The cranial fossil of the Megalibgwilia owenii, found in Foul Air Cave in Buchan, Gippsland. (Supplied: Museums Victoria)
During the Pleistocene epoch, tens of thousands of years ago, the now-extinct echidna could grow to a metre long and weigh up to 15 kilograms — about the size of a small child.
It used its long, straight beak to forage through hard soils for insects.
Its presence adds to a growing picture of a vastly different Gippsland landscape, once home to enormous marsupials and formidable predators.
"We know that on top of the Buchan Caves, the kind of animals that roamed there in the past included marsupials that weighed more than a ton, predatory jaguar-sized animals with no living relatives," Dr Ziegler said.
A natural time capsule
The caves themselves, carved through ancient limestone on Krauatungalung Country near Buchan, have long been recognised as a rich fossil site, but scientists say their full story is still unfolding.
The extremely rare Megalibgwilia owenii fossil was discovered in Buchan's Foul Air Cave back in 1907. (Supplied: Museums Victoria)
"It's a very special place; the caves at Buchan are like a natural time capsule for these skeletal remains,"Dr Ziegler said.
"It's one of the most diverse and abundant fossil sites in caves in south-eastern Australia."
While the fossil's rediscovery relied on modern techniques, including 3D scanning and detailed anatomical comparisons, its origins trace back to early 20th century expeditions, when naturalists first ventured into the cave system.
For Dr Ziegler, that continuity between past and present is part of what makes the work meaningful.
"The special thing for me as well, working in a place like Buchan, is that the history is so important too," he said.
"I can go and find who exactly was involved in these expeditions more than 100 years ago … that still creates new meaning today for the community as it is."
The right lateral fossil of the Megalibgwilia Owenii, known as "Owen's echidna", found in Foul Air Cave. (Supplied: Museums Victoria)
Revisiting the past
The discovery also highlights the enduring scientific value of museum collections, where specimens gathered generations ago can yield new insights with fresh eyes.
"Nothing is ever forgotten in a museum collection," Dr Ziegler said.
"But it's our job to bring that meaning back out again and return it to the community."
Researchers say the finding could prompt renewed searches through both historic collections and unexplored cave systems, in the hope of uncovering more evidence of the giant echidna's presence.
"So we're really filling in the picture, finding pieces of the jigsaw to rebuild this Ice Age megafauna of our past,"Dr Ziegler said.
The dorsal fossil of the Megalibgwilia owenii, found in Foul Air Cave. (Supplied: Museums Victoria)
And with vast stretches of Victoria's fossil record still largely unknown, he said the next breakthrough could come from almost anywhere.
Whether deep underground, in a dusty archive, or hidden in plain sight, waiting, as this one did, for more than a century to be seen.
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