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Image 7815-Kawhia-Giant-Penguin

Reconstruction of the Kawhia giant penguin. Image credit: Simone Giovanardi

The Kawhia Giant Penguin is a currently unnamed species of giant penguin from the Oligocene, Kawhia Harbour in the North Island of New Zealand.

These giant penguins differed from their living descendants in the length of their front limbs and elongated beaks, perhaps suggesting differences in ecological roles when compared with living penguins. The preserved hind-limbs of the new North Island fossil are also significantly longer than all previously described specimens. The forelimbs of the new penguin are almost identical in size when compared with Kairuku grebneffi, a similarly-aged giant penguin from the South Island of New Zealand.

However, its hind-limbs are significantly longer, exceeding in length all previously described specimens of the Kairuku genus. [1] [2]

Sources[]

[1] - http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/kawhia-giant-penguin-07815.html

[2] - https://scitechdaily.com/remarkable-fossil-of-extinct-giant-penguin-species-discovered-in-new-zealand/

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