Scientists discover human-sized penguin fossil on New Zealand beach

The penguin would have been stronger than humans
Tourism New Zealand/AP
Alexandra Richards13 December 2017

A giant new species of prehistoric penguin that would have been the size of a human has been found in New Zealand.

Scientists discovered the remains of the ancient penguin encased in a rock on Hampden beach in Otago in New Zealand’s South Island.

Dubbed Kumimanu biceae, the new discovery would have roamed earth 56-60 million years ago during the Paleocene era, making it the oldest prehistoric penguin to be discovered.

The Kumimanu Biceae would have stood at 1.65 metres tall and measured 1.77 metres in length when swimming. It is also thought to have weighed 100 kilograms.

Partial bones of the new colossal fossil penguin (black) compared with those of an emperor penguin (pale). Clockwise from top left: humeri, vertebrae, coracoids, tibiotarsi.
Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa Museum

The discovery of the new species was first made over a decade ago, however the rock holding the fossilised bones was so hard it has taken scientists until now to study the remains.

The penguin is one of the biggest ever to be discovered weighing in at just under the size of the extinct Late Eocene Antarctic penguin, Palaeeudyptes klekowskii, which was two metres long and weighed 115 kilograms.

Penguins evolved from flying birds tens of millions of years ago and it is thought that as a result they became much larger, growing from 80 cm tall to twice the size.

In the paper which was published by Nature Communications, researchers wrote: “That a penguin rivalling the largest previously known fossil species existed in the Paleocene may indicate that gigantism in penguins arose shortly after these birds became flightless divers.”

Alan Tennyson, curator at the Te Papa Museum, who discovered the penguin in 2004, said that it is difficult to imagine what the prehistoric penguin would have looked like.

However, he said: “It would have been very impressive, as tall as many people, and a very solid, muscly animal built to withstand frequent deep dives to catch its prey.”

He also claimed that the bird would have been “considerably more powerful than a person.”

The decline of giant penguins is thought to be due to the rise in marine mammals such as seals, walruses and whales, providing competition for food and resources.

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