One of the largest viruses known to science has been found in a shallow pond in Melbourne.

Discovered by French researchers, the giant virus is likely to prompt fresh questions about the origins and evolution of life on Earth.

Unlike anything seen before, the virus has led to the creation of an entirely new virus family. The new genus has been named after the Pandora's Box myth, due to its potential for far-reaching scientific consequences.

The Melbourne member of the Pandoravirus family, known as Pandoravirus dulcis, was scooped up in a sample taken from pond mud at La Trobe University's Bundoora campus by environmental virologist Jean-Michel Claverie in 2011.