Bones found in a mountain massif in South Australia belonged to that continent's largest bird of prey, a study by local scientists found, cited by Xinhua.

According to research published on Thursday by Flinders University, the eagle - which has been named Dynatoaetus gaffae - soared over southern Australia more than 60,000 years ago.

With a wingspan of 3 m, it was twice the size of the modern Australian wedge-tailed eagle - Aquila audax.

This makes it the largest bird of prey ever to live in Australia, and possibly the largest continental eagle in the world.

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It had 30 cm long claws that were strong enough to grab small kangaroos.

The first fleeting remains of the predator were found in 1956 in the Flinders Range mountains more than 300 km north of Adelaide.

It wasn't until Flinders University palaeontologist Ellen Mather organized an expedition to the area in late 2021 that enough remains were found to know what the eagle was like.

"We were very excited to find most of the bones from the skeleton and so create a better picture and description of these magnificent, long-extinct giant birds," Mather said, adding: "It is often noted how few large land predators Australia has had since that time, so Dynatoaetus gaffae helps fill that gap."

The team hopes to find more fossils that will shed additional light on how the ancient eagle lived, adds BTA. 

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