A team of international researchers have identified fossils discovered between 2016 and 2017 as belonging to two new penguin species, including the largest specimen ever observed.
According a statement from Cambridge University, these fossils were found in 57-million-year-old rocks in the northern Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island.
By using laser scanners to make reconstructions of these animals, they estimate that their weight might reach 154 kilograms.
For comparison, the largest and most imposing emperor penguins weigh between 22 and 45 kilograms.
“Our new species, the Kumimanu fordycei, is the largest fossil of a penguin ever discovered, shares one of the authors of the study reporting this discovery, Dr Daniel Field. At almost 350 pounds, he would weigh more than Shaquille O’Neal at the height of his dominance!
These gigantic specimens would have existed between 59.5 and 55.5 million years ago.
They would have reached such sizes in particular to be more effective in water.
“A bigger penguin might catch bigger fish, and more importantly, it might also be able to maintain its body temperature more effectively in cold waters,” Field continues. It is possible that weighing more than 100 pounds allowed the first penguins to migrate from New Zealand to other places in the world.
The new information gathered gives new clues to experts studying the evolution of these animals.
“Fossils give us evidence of the history of life, and sometimes that evidence can be very surprising,” says the researcher.
A study sharing these findings was published in the Journal of Paleontology.
