''Archaeospheniscus lopdelli'' was the largest

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of the

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Archaeospheniscus'', standing about high, or somewhat less than the extant

emperor penguin The emperor penguin (''Aptenodytes forsteri'') is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching in length and weighing from . Feathers of th ...

. It is only known from bones of a single individual (

Otago Museum Tūhura Otago Museum is located in the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is adjacent to the University of Otago campus in Dunedin North, 1,500 metres northeast of the city centre. It is one of the city's leading attractions and has one of t ...

C.47.21) which was found in the Late

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

Kokoamu Greensand The Kokoamu Greensand is a geological formation found in New Zealand. It is a fossil-bearing, late Oligocene, greensand rock unit of the eastern South Island, especially the Waitaki District of North Otago and the southern Canterbury region. The ...

Formation (27-28 MYA) at

Duntroon, New Zealand Duntroon (from gd, Dùn Treòin) is a small farming-town in the Waitaki District of New Zealand's South Island. Although traditionally considered a North Otago town, it is located within the farthest southern reaches of Canterbury. Just nort ...

. Bones apparently belonging to this species are now also known from the Late

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

La Meseta Formation The La Meseta Formation is a sedimentary sequence deposited during the Eocene. The formation is found on Seymour Island, Antarctica. Description La Meseta Formation lies unconformably on the Cretaceous Lopez de Bertodano Formation. It is an app ...

(34-37 MYA) on

Seymour Island Seymour Island or Marambio Island, is an island in the chain of 16 major islands around the tip of the Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula. Graham Land is the closest part of Antarctica to South America. It lies within the section of the isla ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

(Tambussi ''et al.'', 2006). As the bird is not very well distinguished except in size from its contemporary congener '' Archaeospheniscus lowei'' and the size range, an estimated 85–120 cm, is in the upper range of the variation found in modern penguins, it is probable that ''A. lopdelli'' is a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of ''A. lowelli''. As the recent finds in Antarctica suggest, this is far from certain, however, and there remains much to be learned about the systematics and

biogeography Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities often vary in a regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, ...

of the two larger ''Archaeospheniscus'' species. The species'

binomen In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

honors J. C. Lopdell, who assisted Marples in recovering the fossils of this bird and others found in the Duntroon excavations.

References

* Marples, Brian J. (1952): "Early Tertiary Penguins of New Zealand". ''New Zealand Geol. Surv., Paleont. Bull.'' 20: 1-66. * Simpson, George Gaylord (1971): "A review of the Pre-Pleistocene Penguins of New Zealand". ''Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History'' 144: 319–378
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* Tambussi, C. P.; Acosta Hospitaleche, C. I.; Reguero, M. A. & Marenssi, S. A. (2006): "Late Eocene Penguins from West Antarctica: Systematics and Biostratigraphy". ''Geological Society, London, Special Publication'' 258: 145–161. {{Taxonbar, from=Q3621459 Archaeospheniscus Oligocene birds Extinct penguins Cenozoic Antarctica Cenozoic animals of Oceania Paleogene Oceania Extinct animals of Antarctica Extinct birds of New Zealand Cenozoic animals of Antarctica Taxa named by Brian John Marples