''Palaeeudyptes klekowskii'', also known as the colossus penguin, was a

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 ...

''Palaeeudyptes''. It was until recently thought to have been approximately the size of its congener ''

Palaeeudyptes antarcticus ''Palaeeudyptes antarcticus'', also referred to as the narrow-flippered penguin, is the type species of the extinct penguin genus ''Palaeeudyptes''. It was a huge species, albeit probably with a large size variation. Although the size range can ...

'', which would mean it was somewhat larger than the modern

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 ...

, but a new study shows it was in fact almost twice as tall. Its maximum height is estimated to be up to and maximum body mass up to . Knowledge of it comes from an extensive collection of

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 ...

bones 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' ...

(34-37 MYA) of the

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 ...

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 ...

. ''P. klekowskii'' was at first not recognized as a distinct species, and despite the coexistence of two so closely related species of similar size as ''

Palaeeudyptes gunnari ''Palaeeudyptes gunnari'' is an extinct species of the extinct penguin genus ''Palaeeudyptes''. It was a bit smaller than its congener '' Palaeeudyptes antarcticus'' of New Zealand, standing between 110 and 125 cm high, approximately the si ...

'' and ''P. klekowskii'' seeming somewhat improbable, the amount of fossil material suggests that the two species are indeed diagnosably different.

References

* Jadwiszczak, Piotr (2006): Eocene penguins of Seymour Island, Antarctica: Taxonomy. ''Polish Polar Research'' 27(1): 3–62
PDF fulltext
* Myrcha, Andrzej; Jadwiszczak, Piotr; Tambussi, Claudia P.; Noriega, Jorge I.; Gaździcki, Andrzej; Tatur, Andrzej & Del Valle, Rodolfo A. (2002): Taxonomic revision of Eocene Antarctic penguins based on tarsometatarsal morphology. ''Polish Polar Research'' 23(1): 5–46
PDf fulltext
* Myrcha, Andrzej; Tatur, Andrzej & Del Valle, Rodolfo A. (1990) A new species of fossil penguin from Seymour Island, West Antarctica. ''Alcheringa'' 14: 195–205. {{Taxonbar, from=Q3889303 klekowskii Eocene birds Extinct penguins Cenozoic Antarctica Cenozoic animals of Oceania Extinct animals of Antarctica Cenozoic animals of Antarctica