''Kumimanu'' is an
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 ...
genus of giant
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 ...
, which lived around 60 to 56 million years ago. The type and only
species is ''K. biceae'', which arose after the
extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs.
Fossils
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 in ...
were found in New Zealand, and the discovery was announced in December 2017.
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]
General information
The order Sphenisciformes refers to all living and extinct penguin species. In 2017 an article on one of the largest and oldest species of the order herewith discovered was published. It was discovered at Hampden Beach in the Otago region of New Zealand. This organism is named ''Kumimanu biceae'', of which the genus name translates from Maori as "monster bird", while the specific name honours the nickname of the mother one of the authors. Total length from tip of the beak and tail is approximately five feet and three to ten inches (1.60 to 1.77 meters), and weighing over , being thus the second largest penguin thus far known. This is a particularly significant discovery because the fossil is fifty-five million years old — meaning it lived in the Paleocene era — which is many million years older than all other previously found remains of penguins which reached 'giant' sizes, and thus the third or fourth oldest penguin known (pending new publications). Therefore, it allows scientists to better understand the evolution of penguins.[
]
Discovery and analysis
The fossils were found by a group of researchers from New Zealand in Otago
Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
, on the South Island of New Zealand
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman S ...
. The fossils are from the Paleocene Waipara Greensand formation. The fossils were studied by a New Zealand and German team, led by Gerald Mayr of the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum. He was the lead author of an article on the subject published online in December 2017.[
]
Ecology and behavior
''Kumimanu biceae'' lived in New Zealand, which was subtropical during much of the Paleocene era. There were many organisms in these waters including sea turtles and various fishes. ''K. biceae'' were likely similar to modern-day penguins in the way they lived. However, these “monster birds” were likely able to consume larger prey due to their size.
See also
* Kairuku
''Kairuku'' is an extinct genus of penguin. It contains three species, ''K. grebneffi'', ''K. waitaki'' and ''K. waewaeroa''. This taxon is known from bones from 27 MYA (late Oligocene), from the Kokoamu Greensand Formation of New Zealand. ...
* Extinction event
An extinction event (also known as a mass extinction or biotic crisis) is a widespread and rapid decrease in the biodiversity on Earth. Such an event is identified by a sharp change in the diversity and abundance of multicellular organisms. I ...
References
* Jadwiszczak, Piotr, et al. “Redescription Of Crossvallia Unienwillia: The Only Paleocene Antarctic Penguin.” Ameghiniana, vol. 50, no. 6, 2013, pp. 545–553., doi:10.5710/amgh.09.10.2013.1058"
* "Ancient Mega-Penguin Reached Human Height"
* Malcolm Ritter
"Ancient penguin was as big as a (human) Pittsburgh Penguin"
retrieved 15 December 2017. (Note: The title refers to the Pittsburgh Penguins ice hockey team).
{{Taxonbar, from=Q45352295
Paleogene birds of Oceania
Extinct birds of New Zealand
Extinct penguins
Fossils of New Zealand
Fossil taxa described in 2017
Prehistoric bird genera
Extinct monotypic bird genera