''Icadyptes'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of giant penguins from the

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

tropics of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

Etymology

The genus name is a combination of "''Ica''" for the Peruvian region where the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

was found and "dyptes" from the Greek word for diver. The species epithet "salasi" refers to Rodolfo Salas Gismondi, a noted Peruvian paleontologist.

Description

Standing about tall, the penguin was much larger than any of its modern-day cousins, yet ''Icadyptes salasi'' is merely the third largest penguin ever described. It had an exceptionally long spear-like beak resembling that of a heron. The researchers who discovered the penguins believe the long, pointed beaks to be the likely ancestral shape for all penguins.

Discovery

The fossilised remains of the penguin, which lived approximately 36 million years ago, were found in the Otuma Formation,''Icadyptes''
at Fossilworks.org in the coastal desert of

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

by the team of North Carolina State University

palaeontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

Dr. Julia Clarke, assistant professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences. Its well-preserved

Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

skeleton was found on the southern coast of Peru together with an early Eocene species '' Perudyptes devriesi'' (comparable in size to the living

King penguin The king penguin (''Aptenodytes patagonicus'') is the second largest species of penguin, smaller, but somewhat similar in appearance to the emperor penguin. There are two subspecies: ''A. p. patagonicus'' and ''A. p. halli''; ''patagonicus'' ...

), and the remains of three other previously undescribed penguin species, all of which seem to have preferred the tropics over colder latitudes.

Evolution

''Icadyptes salasi'' and ''Perudyptes devriesi'' appear to have flourished at warmer latitudes at a time when world temperatures were at their warmest over the past 65 million years. Only a few modern-day penguins, such as the

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

and

Galapagos penguin The Galápagos penguin (''Spheniscus mendiculus'') is a penguin endemic to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. It is the only penguin found north of the equator. Most inhabit Fernandina Island and the west coast of Isabela Island. The cool wate ...

s prefer such a balmy climate. The discovery of the fossils has caused a re-evaluation of penguin evolution and expansion. Previously, scientists believed that penguins evolved near the poles in Antarctica and New Zealand, and moved closer to the equator around 10 million years ago. Since ''Icadyptes salasi'' lived in Peru during a period of great warmth, penguins must have adapted to warm climates around 30 million years earlier than previously believed.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q135313 Sphenisciformes Extinct penguins Eocene birds of South America Tinguirirican Divisaderan Paleogene Peru Fossils of Peru Fossil taxa described in 2007