The sizeable phantom island in the Coral Sea is shown as Sandy Island on Google Earth, and measures about 15 miles by three miles on Google maps - and is supposedly midway between Australia and the French-governed New Caledonia.
The Times Atlas of the World appears to identify it as Sable Island.
Weather maps used by the Southern Surveyor, an Australian maritime research vessel, also say it exists, according to Dr Maria Seton.
But when the Southern Surveyor, which was tasked with identifying fragments of the Australian continental crust submerged in the Coral Sea, travelled to where the island was supposed to be, it was nowhere to be found.
“We wanted to check it out because the navigation charts on board the ship showed a water depth of 4,620 feet in that area - very deep,” Dr Seton, from the University of Sydney, said after the 25-day voyage.
“It’s on Google Earth and other maps so we went to check and there was no island. We’re really puzzled. It’s quite bizarre.
“How did it find its way onto the maps? We just don’t know, but we plan to follow up and find out.”
Google said it always welcomed feedback on a map and “continuously explore(s) ways to integrate new information from our users and authoritative partners into Google Maps”.
“We work with a wide variety of authoritative public and commercial data sources to provide our users with the richest, most up-to-date maps possible,” a Google spokesman told AFP.
“One of the exciting things about maps and geography is that the world is a constantly changing place, and keeping on top of these changes is a never-ending endeavour.”
The Australian Navy’s Hydrographic Service - the department responsible for producing official nautical charts - told Fairfax media it took the world coastline database “with a pinch of salt” since some entries were old or erroneous.