Flinders University scientists have unveiled the physical structure of a 230kg prehistoric bird that roamed SA 45,000 years ago

South Australian scientists have made the once-in-a-century discovery of a giant prehistoric bird that roamed the state 45,000 years ago.

A scientific depiction of what Genyornis newtoni may have looked like. Picture: Flinders University

Researchers from Flinders University have uncovered partial fossils of a 45,000-year-old prehistoric bird in Far North SA.

Flinders University researchers have uncovered the skull of Australia’s own giant megafauna bird – Genyornis newtoni, also dubbed the “giga-goose” – in Lake Callabonna, near the NSW border.

The fossilised skull is one of two ever discovered, with the first damaged skull being found in 1913.

For the past 128 years not much has been known about Genyornis newtoni.

In a new study published in the journal Historical Biology, researchers from the university have unveiled the physical structure and ecology of the bird.

Flinders University palaeontologists Phoebe McInerney and Jacob Blokland with the discovered fossils. Picture: Flinders University

“With this new skull we have started to piece together the puzzle which shows, simply put, this species to be a giant goose,” said researcher Phoebe McInerney.

“For the first time we could put a face on this bird, one very different to any other bird, yet like a goose,” said study co-author Dr Trevor Worthy.

The researchers now know the bird weighed approximately 230kg and lived in an aquatic habitat.

Genyornis newtoni was believed to have gone extinct 45,000 years ago.