Scientists have identified a previously unknown species of prehistoric bird, several times heavier than its modern relatives, the chicken, from a single fragment of leg bone found in a cave on the Indonesian island of Flores, the same cave that produced the ancient human relative nicknamed the "hobbit."The extinct bird, named Megapodius rokusi, was identified from a fossilised right leg bone recovered inside Liang Bua cave. The findings, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2026.2741158#abstract">published </a>in October 2026 in the journal Alcheringa, describe a bird that weighed an estimated 8.6 pounds (3.9 kilograms), making it significantly larger than the related species still found on the island today.Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/florida-s-own-jaws-moment-bull-shark-spotted-swimming-flooded-neighbourhood-video-goes-viral-watch-1793874472651">Florida's own 'Jaws' moment? Bull Shark spotted swimming flooded neighbourhood, video goes viral | WATCH</a><h2>What kind of bird was it?</h2>The species belongs to the megapodes, also known as incubator birds or mound-builders, a group of medium-sized to large ground-dwelling relatives of the chicken with powerful legs, large feet and sharp claws. Unlike most birds, which keep their eggs warm by sitting on them, megapodes bury their eggs and rely on heat from the surrounding environment to incubate them.Scientists named the species in honour of Indonesian zooarchaeologist Rokus Due Awe, who played an important role in studying animal remains from Liang Bua and helped identify early fossils belonging to Homo floresiensis.Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/one-little-banana-heist-up-police-shares-elephant-mom-calf-clip-to-teach-honesty-internet-teaches-it-a-lesson-instead-viral-video-1793435939741">'One little banana heist': UP Police shares elephant mom-calf clip to teach honesty, internet teaches it a lesson instead | Viral video</a><h2>How big was it?</h2>The fossil was discovered in 2009 but has only now been identified as belonging to a new species. It consists of the lower portion of a right leg bone, recovered from cave sediments dating back roughly 190,000 to 120,000 years.Despite having only one fragment, scientists determined the bone was larger than the equivalent bone in any other known living or extinct species of the genus Megapodius. They estimated the bird's weight at approximately 3.9 kilograms, or 8.6 pounds. By comparison, the orange-footed megapode, the only living member of the group on Flores today, weighs between about 1.1 and 2.6 pounds.The fossil also marks the first described megapode fossil from Wallacea, the island region between mainland Asia and Australia, giving researchers new information about the birds that once lived there.<h2>Could the large bird fly?</h2>Because no wing or shoulder bones were recovered, researchers cannot determine whether Megapodius rokusi was capable of flying. They also do not know exactly when the species disappeared, or whether it ever shared the island with the smaller megapodes that live there today. One possibility is that the modern species arrived on Flores only after its larger relative had already gone extinct. &nbsp;

Scientists identify Megapodius rokusi, a giant prehistoric chicken relative weighing an estimated 8.6 pounds, from a fossil found in the same Flores cave that yielded Homo floresiensis.

Scientists have identified a previously unknown species of prehistoric bird, several times heavier than its modern relatives, the chicken, from a single fragment of leg bone found in a cave on the Indonesian island of Flores, the same cave that produced the ancient human relative nicknamed the "hobbit." The extinct bird, named Megapodius rokusi, was identified from a fossilised right leg bone recovered inside Liang Bua cave. The findings, published in October 2026 in the journal Alcheringa, describe a bird that weighed an estimated 8.6 pounds (3.9 kilograms), making it significantly larger than the related species still found on the island today. Also read | Florida's own 'Jaws' moment? Bull Shark spotted swimming flooded neighbourhood, video goes viral | WATCH What kind of bird was it? The species belongs to the megapodes, also known as incubator birds or mound-builders, a group of medium-sized to large ground-dwelling relatives of the chicken with powerful legs, large feet and sharp claws. Unlike most birds, which keep their eggs warm by sitting on them, megapodes bury their eggs and rely on heat from the surrounding environment to incubate them. Scientists named the species in honour of Indonesian zooarchaeologist Rokus Due Awe, who played an important role in studying animal remains from Liang Bua and helped identify early fossils belonging to Homo floresiensis. Also read | 'One little banana heist': UP Police shares elephant mom-calf clip to teach honesty, internet teaches it a lesson instead | Viral video How big was it? The fossil was discovered in 2009 but has only now been identified as belonging to a new species. It consists of the lower portion of a right leg bone, recovered from cave sediments dating back roughly 190,000 to 120,000 years. Despite having only one fragment, scientists determined the bone was larger than the equivalent bone in any other known living or extinct species of the genus Megapodius. They estimated the bird's weight at approximately 3.9 kilograms, or 8.6 pounds. By comparison, the orange-footed megapode, the only living member of the group on Flores today, weighs between about 1.1 and 2.6 pounds. The fossil also marks the first described megapode fossil from Wallacea, the island region between mainland Asia and Australia, giving researchers new information about the birds that once lived there. Could the large bird fly? Because no wing or shoulder bones were recovered, researchers cannot determine whether Megapodius rokusi was capable of flying. They also do not know exactly when the species disappeared, or whether it ever shared the island with the smaller megapodes that live there today. One possibility is that the modern species arrived on Flores only after its larger relative had already gone extinct.

Scientists have identified a new species of extinct megapode bird from a single leg bone found in Liang Bua cave on Flores, the same site that yielded the 'hobbit.' The bird weighed an estimated 8.6 pounds, several times more than its living relative. Read the full story here.

A giant chicken from the age of the hobbit? Scientists unveil strange prehistoric discovery from Indonesia

A weird prehistoric bird 'Longipteryx', which has a beak filled with ultra-strong teeth, may have been eating fruits and not flesh in China&nbsp;120 million years ago.

The scientists from the Field Museum,&nbsp;Chicago, found fossilised fruit in the belly of this bird, which highlighted its diet.&nbsp;

This evidence suggested that Longipteryx did not eat fish but may have been eating insects along with fruits.&nbsp;

The study's lead author, Jingmai O'Connor, said, "Longipteryx is one of my favourite fossil birds, because it’s just so weird— it has this long skull, and teeth only at the tip of its beak."

The remains of the prehistoric bird were discovered in 2000 beneath Northwestern China and had left palaeontologists puzzled.&nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/bird-genes-store-memories-of-dinosaur-extiction-here-is-how-749319">Bird genes 'store' memories of dinosaur extinction: Here is how</a>

Dr O'Connor said that the evidence which has come up with the new theory didn't fit with the idea that they were eating fish.&nbsp;

"Longipteryx is one of my favourite fossil birds, because it's just so weird— it has this long skull, and teeth only at the tip of its beak," he said.&nbsp;

"There are other fossil birds, like Yanornis, that ate fish, and we know because specimens have been found with preserved stomach contents, and fish tend to preserve well. Plus, these fish-eating birds had lots of teeth, all the way along their beaks, unlike how Longipteryx only has teeth at the very tip of its beak. It just didn't add up," said O'Connor.&nbsp;

<h2>Prehistoric bird's puzzling diet</h2>

Dr O'Connor, during a trip to the Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature in China, spotted two specimens which had something in the stomachs.&nbsp;

When he looked closer, he saw it was neither fish nor insects but the fruit from trees.&nbsp;

Because Longipteryx lived in a temperate climate, the researchers are not convinced by the argument that they ate fruit all year round, which means that they should have had a mixed diet.&nbsp;

Watch:&nbsp;China nature reserve seeks co-existence of wild birds &amp; power supply facilities

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/china-nature-reserve-seeks-co-existence-of-wild-birds-power-supply-facilities-755200/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"It’s always been weird that we didn’t know what they were eating, but this study also hints at a bigger picture problem in palaeontology, that physical characteristics of a fossil don’t always tell the whole story about what animal ate or how it lived," Dr O'Connor said.&nbsp;

The researchers discovered that Longipteryx's teeth were coated with a layer of enamel 50 microns thick.

"Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the body, and Longipteryx's&nbsp;tooth enamel&nbsp;is 50 microns thick. That's the same thickness of the enamel on enormous predatory dinosaurs like Allosaurus that weighed 4,000 pounds, but Longipteryx is the size of a bluejay," said Alex Clark, co-author of the paper.

(With inputs from agencies)

A weird prehistoric bird 'Longipteryx', which has a beak filled with ultra-strong teeth, may have been eating fruits and not flesh in China 120 million years ago.

A weird prehistoric bird 'Longipteryx', which has a beak filled with ultra-strong teeth, may have been eating fruits and not flesh in China 120 million years ago. The scientists from the Field Museum, Chicago, found fossilised fruit in the belly of this bird, which highlighted its diet. This evidence suggested that Longipteryx did not eat fish but may have been eating insects along with fruits. The study's lead author, Jingmai O'Connor, said, "Longipteryx is one of my favourite fossil birds, because it’s just so weird— it has this long skull, and teeth only at the tip of its beak." The remains of the prehistoric bird were discovered in 2000 beneath Northwestern China and had left palaeontologists puzzled. Also Read: Bird genes 'store' memories of dinosaur extinction: Here is how Dr O'Connor said that the evidence which has come up with the new theory didn't fit with the idea that they were eating fish. "Longipteryx is one of my favourite fossil birds, because it's just so weird— it has this long skull, and teeth only at the tip of its beak," he said. "There are other fossil birds, like Yanornis, that ate fish, and we know because specimens have been found with preserved stomach contents, and fish tend to preserve well. Plus, these fish-eating birds had lots of teeth, all the way along their beaks, unlike how Longipteryx only has teeth at the very tip of its beak. It just didn't add up," said O'Connor. Prehistoric bird's puzzling diet Dr O'Connor, during a trip to the Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature in China, spotted two specimens which had something in the stomachs. When he looked closer, he saw it was neither fish nor insects but the fruit from trees. Because Longipteryx lived in a temperate climate, the researchers are not convinced by the argument that they ate fruit all year round, which means that they should have had a mixed diet. Watch: China nature reserve seeks co-existence of wild birds & power supply facilities "It’s always been weird that we didn’t know what they were eating, but this study also hints at a bigger picture problem in palaeontology, that physical characteristics of a fossil don’t always tell the whole story about what animal ate or how it lived," Dr O'Connor said. The researchers discovered that Longipteryx's teeth were coated with a layer of enamel 50 microns thick. "Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the body, and Longipteryx's tooth enamel is 50 microns thick. That's the same thickness of the enamel on enormous predatory dinosaurs like Allosaurus that weighed 4,000 pounds, but Longipteryx is the size of a bluejay," said Alex Clark, co-author of the paper. (With inputs from agencies)

This 'weird' prehistoric bird species ate fruit, not flesh in China, shows fossil analysis

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