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Giant 3.9-kg prehistoric bird related to modern chickens identified in Indonesian cave
A fossil found in an Indonesian cave known for its ancient ‘hobbit’ remains has revealed a previously unknown bird species.
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A fossil found in an Indonesian cave has led researchers to identify a previously unknown species of giant prehistoric bird related to modern chickens. The bird is estimated to have weighed around 3.9 kg (8.6 pounds), making it considerably heavier than its living relatives.
Named Megapodius rokusi, the bird was identified from a fossilised leg bone recovered from Liang Bua cave on the Indonesian island of Flores. According to a report by PEOPLE, the bone was discovered in 2009 but has only now been identified as belonging to a previously unknown species.
The research was published in October 2026 in the journal Alcheringa.
How big was the prehistoric bird?
The fossil was recovered from cave deposits dating back between 190,000 and 120,000 years. The bird belonged to a group called megapodes, which are ground-dwelling relatives of chickens known for their strong legs and large feet.
At an estimated 3.9 kg, Megapodius rokusi was much heavier than the orange-footed megapode, the only living member of the same genus found on Flores today. The modern bird weighs around 0.5 to 1.2 kg.
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Megapodes also have an unusual way of incubating their eggs. Instead of sitting on them to keep them warm, they bury them in the ground and rely on heat from the surrounding soil or vegetation.
The fossil is the first evidence of a megapode species described from Wallacea, a group of islands between mainland Asia and Australia. Its identification points to a greater variety of these birds in the region's past than scientists had previously documented.
Why was the bird named after an Indonesian researcher?
The species was named after Indonesian zooarchaeologist Rokus Due Awe, who studied animal remains recovered from Liang Bua. He also helped identify human bones and teeth that contributed to the discovery of Homo floresiensis, the small-bodied ancient human relative popularly known as the ‘hobbit’.
There are still questions about the bird that researchers cannot answer from the fossil. Only part of its leg bone has been recovered, so it is not clear whether the species could fly. Its exact extinction date is also unknown, as is whether it lived alongside the smaller megapodes found on Flores today.
Researchers have also raised the possibility that the bird's eggs were eaten by ancient humans on the island. However, there is no direct evidence that Homo floresiensis ate eggs belonging to this particular species.
The findings were published in the research paper A new species of megapode (Galliformes: Megapodiidae) from the Pleistocene of Liang Bua, Flores in Alcheringa on October 22, 2026.
