Very old fossil of a giant penguin found

frankfurt - Penguins existed probably longer than assumed so far. They possibly were already living in the era of the dinosaurs. Which enable researchers in the journal The Science of Nature, after the discovery of a fossil of a giant penguin.

The remains date from the Paleocene and are about 61 million years old. The dinosaurs died out about 65 million years ago.

The remains of the half-meter high animal among the oldest penguin remains ever found, scientist explains Gerald Mayr of the Senckenberg Institute in Frankfurt. The fossilized bones were found at the Waipara River on the South Island in New Zealand. The site is known for its bird remains after the extinction of the dinosaurs about four million years have been buried by the sea sand.

The discovered bones differ significantly from other similar finds. The diversity of penguins in the Paleocene was likely even greater than previously thought. 'This multitude of penguin species indicates that the first penguins probably originated in the era of the dinosaurs,' says Mayr.

The discovered bones resemble those of the much smaller modern king penguin, the researchers write. With around 150 centimeters, he has almost the length of the record anthropornis nordenskjoeldi which could be up to 170 centimeters. The largest penguin lived around 45 to 33 million years ago.