New species of ground-dwelling bird, the largest of its kind, identified in same cave as Homo floresiensis

November 8, 2026 feature New species of ground-dwelling bird, the largest of its kind, identified in same cave as Homo floresiensis Sandee Oster Author Sadie Harley Scientific Editor Robert Egan Senior Editor In 2009, researchers working in the Liang Bua cave on Flores Island came across a leg bone. The 190,000–120,000-year-old fossil was identified as a bird bone and set aside. Like many bird bones before it, it was overlooked and left to collect dust. Now, about 17 years later, researchers have identified the fossil as belonging to a new extinct megapode species, a ground-dwelling, chicken-like bird. It's the first megapode fossil ever found in Wallacea and one of the largest of its kind, according to the study published in Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. "It is one of the oldest bird remains we have found at Liang Bua …," Hanneke Meijer, a professor and curator of osteology at the University Museum of Bergen, said. "This is a period for which we have almost no data on birds, … so it is exciting that we can pinpoint this species to this period." An ancient ground-dwelling, mound-building bird? Megapodes split from other fowl-like birds during the Late Cretaceous, with researchers suggesting the group first emerged in Australasia before spreading their wings across eastern Indonesia, Melanesia, the Philippines and Australia, where they are found today, the study authors wrote. According to Meijer, "Rather than sit on their nests, they (megapodes) lay their eggs in large mounds or burrows and then leave them there (and never look back)." Despite megapodes' diverse and long history, the study reported that no bird fossil of one had ever been found in Wallacea. Then researchers found this fossilized leg bone in one of Liang Bua's deepest layers. That's the same cave that held the ancient remains of Homo floresiensis, the study reported. It sat unstudied for years until researchers began comparing it to living and extinct megapode species. They found it was unlike any other. Its toe joints differ in shape and position from those of other megapodes, and its leg shape and size suggest it was rather large. All in all, the evidence suggested the fossil belonged to a new species. The researchers named it Megapodius rokusi, after Rokus Due Awe, the same individual who first recognized the bones of H. floresiensis and later identified the fossil as a bird bone. "Due Awe was an incredible self-taught zooarchaeologist, and it is an honor to be able to name a species after him," Meijer said. M. rokusi would have been rather large, weighing around 3.9 kilograms (~8.6 pounds), making it the largest Megapodius ever found. Today, it would even dwarf Flores Island's current megapode species, the orange-footed scrubfowl, which weighs only 0.5–1.2 kg (~1–3 pounds), the study reported. Not much else can be said from a single fossil. Without wing bones, it is uncertain whether it could fly, and without other fossils, even its extinction is murky. The study reported that it may have vanished around the same time as Liang Bua's other extinct animals, including the giant stork, the dwarf Stegodon, H. floresiensis and vultures. Alternatively, it may have disappeared much earlier. Even so, this bone fills a gap in the bird fossil record and, for Meijer, is a reminder of how much is still unknown. "Southeast Asia is considered a biodiversity hotspot, but it is important to realize that what we see today is only a remnant of what once was," Meijer said. Meijer doubts this is the only megapode fossil in Wallacea. Because bird fossils have long been overlooked in favor of mammal bones, she expects more are out there, waiting to be discovered. "I definitely think there might be more megapode fossils lying around, and I can't wait to look at more material to find them," Meijer said. Written for you by our author Sandee Oster, edited by Sadie Harley, and fact-checked and reviewed by Robert Egan—this article is the result of careful human work. We rely on readers like you to keep independent science journalism alive. If this reporting matters to you, please consider a donation (especially monthly). You'll get an ad-free account as a thank-you. More information Hanneke J. M. Meijer et al., A new species of megapode (Galliformes: Megapodiidae) from the Pleistocene of Liang Bua, Flores, Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology (2026). DOI: 10.1080/03115518.2026.2741158 © 2026 Science X Network