| Anthropornis Temporal range: Eocene to Early Oligocene 45–33 Ma | |
|---|---|
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| Life-size restoration of Anthropornis sp. by Nix Illustration. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukarya |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Clade: | Sauropsida |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Aves |
| Family: | Spheniscidae |
| Subfamily: | † Palaeeudyptinae |
| Genus: | †Anthropornis Wiman, 1905 |
| Species: | †A. grandis Wiman, 1905 |
| Type species | |
| †A. nordenskjoeldi Wiman, 1905 | |
| Synonyms | |
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A. grandis
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Edit In Progress!!!
Anthropornis (Ancient Greek for "man bird") is an extinct genus of giant penguin that lived 45-33 million years ago, during the Late Eocene and the earliest part of the Oligocene. It reached 1.8 meters (5 feet 11 inches) in height and 90 kg (200 lbs) in weight. By comparison, the largest modern penguin species, the emperor penguin, is about 1.2 meters (3 feet 11 inches) tall.
Two species are known, the Nordenskjoeld's Giant Penguin, A. nordenskjoeldi, and the Greater Giant Penguin (A. grandis). Fossils of both species have been found in the La Meseta Formation on Seymour Island off the coast of Antarctica below South America.
History of research[]
Quadrate and ulna of Anthropornis nordenskjoeldi from the Polish collection
The first remains of Anthropornis were described in 1905 by C. Wiman. They were recovered in the Swedish Antarctic Expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld, after with the type species is named. Both species are kept at the Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM), with the holotype of A. grandis being NRM PZ CU24 and the holotype for A. nordenskjoeldi being NRM PZ CU46.
Further studies[]
Description[]
Anthropornis was about 1.7 meters tall, and could weigh up to. They are the among the largest, if not the largest, sphenisciform species yet to have evolved.
Paleobiology[]
The wing skeleton of an indeterminate Anthropornis species (Anthropornis sp.) has a bent joint in the wing, probably a carryover from flying ancestors (over 99% of birds can fly, and all flightless birds descended from birds that flew). Modern penguins have more compact, heavy wings that serve as flippers.
Paleoecology[]
Both species of Anthropornis lived on Seymour Island in the Eocene-Oligocene. They shared their habitat with at least 8 other penguin species.[1]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Jadwiszczak, Piotr. (2006). Eocene penguins of Seymour Island, Antarctica: Taxonomy. Polish Polar Research. 27. 3-62.