Megalibgwilia fossil map
Where fossils of Megalibgwilia have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 2.58–0.0117 million years ago (Gelasian to Late Pleistocene) |
| Periods | Quaternary |
| Family | Tachyglossidae |
| Named by | Griffiths et al. 1991 |
| Fossil records | 6 occurrences at 3 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Australia |
| Rock formations | txn:39742 |
About Megalibgwilia
Megalibgwilia is a genus of echidna known only from Australian fossils that incorporates the oldest-known echidna species. The genus ranged from the Pliocene until the late Pleistocene, becoming extinct about 50,000 years ago. Megalibgwilia species were more widespread in warmer and moist climates. Their extinction can be attributed to increasing aridification in Southern Australia.
Megalibgwilia was first described from a broken left humerus by Gerard Krefft in 1868 as "Echidna" owenii. In the past, many researchers didn't recognize that "Echidna" ramsayi named by Richard Owen in 1884 represents a junior synonym, though recent studies have reevaluated this. Complete skulls and postcranial fossils have since been described. A second species, M. robusta, was described in 1895 by Australian paleontologist William Sutherland Dun. Megalibgwilia comes from Greek mégas (μέγᾰς) and Wemba Wemba libgwil (plus the Latin suffix -ia), meaning echidna.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Megalibgwilia (revision 1336670640), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q312072.
