Largest penguin fossils discovered in New Zealand

Madrid, 9 February. (Europe Press) –

Fossil bones excavated in New Zealand correspond to the largest penguin species ever known: weighing more than 150 kilograms, Three times more than the largest penguins.

Fossils were discovered In 57-million-year-old beach rocks in North Otago in the South Island of New Zealand between 2016 and 2017.

An international team, including researchers from the University of Cambridge, reported the new findings in the journal Journal of Paleontology.

They have been determined to be between 59.5 and 55.5 million years old, which places their existence between five and ten million years after the Cretaceous extinction, which caused the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs.

The team used laser scanners to create digital models of the bones. and compare them with other fossil species, diving fliers such as razorbills, and modern penguins. To estimate the size of the new species, the team measured hundreds of modern penguin bones and calculated regression using flipper bone dimensions to predict weight.

They concluded that the largest flipper bones belonged to a penguin weighing 154 kg. By comparison, the emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguins, typically weighing between 22 and 45 kg.

“Fossils provide us with evidence for the history of life, and sometimes that evidence is really surprising,” he said. It is a statement Dr Daniel Field is Associate Professor at Cambridge’s Department of Geosciences. “Previous fossil penguins reached several enormous sizes, easily surpassing the largest extant penguins. Our new species, Cumimanu fortesii, is the largest fossil penguin ever discovered: It would have weighed more than approximately 350 pounds, (158 kg). [el jugador de baloncesto] Shaquille O’Neal at the peak of his career”.

University of Otago Emeritus Professor Dr. R. The team named the new species Gumimanu fordycei in honor of Ivan Fordyce. “Evan Fordyce is a legend in our field, but also one of the most generous mentors I’ve ever known,” said first author Daniel Ksepka of the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Many models A second type of penguin provides a detailed view of the skeleton. Called Petradyptes stonehousei, it weighed 50 kg less than Gumimanu fordycei. Over the weight of an emperor penguin. The name combines the Greek words “petra” (rock) and “typtes” (diver), referring to a diving bird preserved on a rock. Stonehouse pays tribute to the late Dr. Bernard Stonehouse (1926-2014), who was the first to observe the complete reproductive cycle of the emperor penguin, a major milestone in penguin biology.

These two newly described species demonstrate that penguins became very large early in their evolutionary history. Millions of years ago they fine-tuned their fins. The team found that both species retained archaic traits such as slender fin bones and muscle attachment points similar to flightless birds.