''Muriwaimanu'' is an extinct
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 ...
of early
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 ...
.
One species is known, ''Muriwaimanu tuatahi'', which was originally referred to ''
Waimanu
''Waimanu'' is a genus of early penguin which lived during the Paleocene, soon after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, around 62–60 million years ago. It was about the size of an emperor penguin (1 metre). It is one of the most impor ...
tuatahi'' in 2006 by Slack ''et al.''.
[Slack, K.E., Jones, C.M., Ando, T., Harrison G.L., Fordyce R.E., Arnason, U. and Penny, D. (2006). "Early Penguin Fossils, plus Mitochondrial Genomes, Calibrate Avian Evolution." ''Molecular Biology and Evolution'', 23(6): 1144-1155.]
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It was discovered in the
Waipara Greensand
The Waipara Greensand is a geological rock unit found in Canterbury, New Zealand. It dates from just after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, the Thanetian and Selandian, around 61–62 million years ago in the early Palaeocene. It is ...
near the
Waipara River, in
Canterbury, New Zealand
Canterbury ( mi, Waitaha) is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of , making it the largest region in the country by area. It is home to a population of
The region in its current f ...
, in 1980. The name ''Muriwaimanu'' comes from ''muri'', Māori for "after", and ''Waimanu'', referring to the fact that the fossils come from younger strata than ''Waimanu''.
[ Species remains discovered in 2017 by Leigh Love exhibit a long, narrow beak and paddle-shaped wings. The fossilized remains also indicate ''Muriwaimanu tuatahi'' may have kept their wings in a flexed position during downward strokes, unlike modern penguins whose wings are kept extended. They may be a transition species for modern Antarctic penguins. ]
See also
*2018 in paleontology
Flora Plants
Fungi
Cnidarians
Research
* New three dimensionally phosphatized microfossils of coronate scyphozoan '' Qinscyphus necopinus'', including a new type of fossil embryo, are described from the Cambrian (Fortunian) Kuanchuanpu F ...
*''Sequiwaimanu
''Sequiwaimanu'' is an extinct genus of early penguin. The type species, ''Sequiwaimanu rosieae'', was named and described by Gerald Mayr in 2018.
It is the fourth penguin species to be discovered from the Waipara Greensand in New Zealand, whic ...
''
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q55315059
Extinct penguins
Paleocene first appearances
Fossil taxa described in 2018
Prehistoric bird genera