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South Australia’s Giant Bird: A Window into Prehistory

Genyornis newtoni, the last of Australia’s mihirungs, was a massive flightless bird that stood 1.3 m tall, weighed 240 kg, and browsed shrubs and small plants.


Its fossils, unearthed at Lake Callabonna, offer a rare glimpse into Australia’s megafauna and the continent’s unique evolutionary history.

South Australia is home to some of Australia’s most significant fossils, including Genyornis newtoni, the last of the mihirungs.

Named in 1896 by Stirling and Zietz from fossils at Lake Callabonna, this giant flightless bird was the final survivor of the Dromornithidae, a family of Australian fowl that existed for over 25 million years before disappearing around 45,000 years ago.

Genyornis skeleton unearthed in 2024 at Lake Callabonna. Preserved bones highlighted in yellow reveal Australia’s giant flightless bird.
Digital reconstruction of the Genyornis. Image: J. Blokland

Weighing around 240 kg - six times an emu - Genyornis newtoni stood 1.3m tall and measured 1.5m from beak to tail.

A herbivore, it browsed shrubs and small plants. Its tiny wings are vestigial and had no apparent function, and indicate flight ability was lost many millions of years ago in its ancestor.

Despite its size, Genyornis was related to modern waterfowl, including magpie geese and South American screamers, reflecting a uniquely Australian evolutionary lineage.

The specimen was collected at Lake Callabonna, South Australia, in 2024.
“Preparing for transport: Applying the plaster jacket to protect the specimen as it makes its journey to research and display.
Half uncovered: Excavation reveals the skeleton of Genyornis.

The skeleton on display at Government House was collected in 2024 during a joint Flinders University and Australian Age of Dinosaurs expedition at Lake Callabonna.

Stirling described the site in 1894 as “a veritable necropolis of gigantic extinct marsupials and birds, which have apparently died where they lie, literally in hundreds.” Lake Callabonna was made a Fossil Reserve in 1901 to reflect its significance, the first in Australia.

The area spans roughly 12×5 km² and preserves hundreds of megafaunal skeletons, including Diprotodon, giant wombats, and multiple kangaroo species.

Flinders University offers Australia’s only dedicated Palaeontology degree and maintains a vibrant research program.

Recent investigations at Lake Callabonna have documented 646 megafaunal skeletons and twelve species, including partial skeletons and well preserved skulls of Genyornis.

New species, such as the kangaroo Protemnodon viator, continue to be discovered.

Research uses fossils, CT scans, and digital modeling to study the diversity, evolution, and relationships of prehistoric animals, covering projects on Genyornis skulls, Diprotodon morphology, Phascolonus wombats, and environmental reconstructions from pollen and isotopes.

Discover the Genyornis skeleton in the Government House Library - open to the public on designated Open Days.

Visitors can see the Genyornis skeleton during Government House Open Days, with the next event held on Sunday, 12 October, 2025 from 10am to 2pm.

Discover more about Flinders University’s palaeontology research and study programs at the Home of Palaeontology.

Learn about Australia’s giant prehistoric ‘thunder birds’ and other extinct flightless giants through these stories:

  • New fossils reveal what Australia’s giant ‘thunder birds’ looked like – and how they may have gone extinct (The Conversation, 2024)

  • Giant prehistoric ‘thunder birds’ were riddled with bone disease (The Conversation, 2021)

  • Tracing the origins of Australia’s extinct flightless mihirung birds (The Conversation, 2017)

For further information, please contract Associate Professor Trevor Worthy at Flinders University: [email protected]

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