Fossil of Giant Penguin Ancestor Discovered in New Zealand

Gus, the emperor penguin from Antarctica. Credits: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Scientists person identified a fossilized skull belonging to a elephantine penguin ancestor taxon that erstwhile lived successful what is present Aotearoa, New Zealand. The uncommon discovery, made on the Taranaki coast, sheds caller airy connected however past penguins adapted to warmer climates and raises questions astir their eventual extinction.

The skull, which researchers accidental is 31% longer than that of today’s emperor penguins, belonged to a comparative that apt stood adjacent taller and weighed more. Its beak was longer and much robust, resembling the features of a king penguin but connected a overmuch larger scale.

Research team, which included Dan Ksepka of The Bruce Museum, noted that the penguin ancestor taxon thrived astir 3 cardinal years agone erstwhile planetary temperatures were astir 3 degrees Celsius (37.4 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than pre-industrial levels.

At that time, South Taranaki sat adjacent 40.5° south, and coastal waters reached 20°C (68°F) — acold warmer than those inhabited by modern emperor and king penguins, which forage successful seas person to freezing.

Ancient penguins successful lukewarm waters

Despite the stark quality successful climate, the past taxon managed to past successful these warmer waters, suggesting that somesthesia unsocial was not a limiting origin successful their range. This challenges long-held assumptions astir penguins arsenic strictly cold-water animals and broadens knowing of their biology flexibility.

However, the taxon vanished arsenic the Pleistocene crystal ages began astir 2.58 cardinal years ago. Sea levels and ice sum fluctuated arsenic temperatures dropped, and though smaller penguins successful the portion endured these changes, the elephantine taxon disappeared. Researchers are inactive moving to find why.

Ancient emperor penguin’s fossil. Credit: Alan JD Tennyson / CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Paul Scofield, elder curator astatine Canterbury Museum and a co-author of the study, said it’s improbable that cooler temperatures were solely to blame. He noted that crested and small penguins survived the aforesaid clime shifts and inactive inhabit New Zealand today.

One mentation suggests that the unfastened coastal colonies wherever elephantine penguins apt bred whitethorn person made them much susceptible to predators, specified arsenic the now-extinct Haast’s eagle and Forbes’ harrier. These monolithic raptors arrived from Australia wrong the past 3 cardinal years and hunted ample prey, including moa.

Extinction questions and biology clues

Other imaginable causes see changes successful marine ecosystems. While nutrient shortages tin person terrible impacts connected penguins, researchers accidental it’s unclear wherefore this would person selectively affected lone the larger species.

The fossil find not lone deepens knowing of penguin improvement but besides offers a glimpse into however taxon whitethorn respond arsenic water temperatures rise. With Aotearoa’s marine ecosystem entering the habitable scope for caller species, studying past lukewarm periods has ne'er been much relevant.

The squad thanked Kerr Sharpe-Young for uncovering the fossil and acknowledged the enactment of Ngāti Ruanui and Ngāruahine successful facilitating the research.