Triops Longicaudatus
Triops Longicaudatus Red
Triops Longicaudatus
Triops Longicaudatus Red
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Palaeontology: Giant penguins discovered in Peru
Penguins are by no means exclusively at home in the icy regions of the southern hemisphere. For example, the Humboldt penguin, which measures around 50 centimetres, lives on the coast of Peru today. But compared to a prehistoric relative, it seems almost inconspicuous: around 36 million years ago, an impressive giant penguin with a dagger-like beak populated the warm coastal areas of what is now the province of Ica – close to the equator.
The approximately 1.5 metre tall animal was discovered by palaeontologist Julia Clarke from North Carolina State University and her international research team. In addition to the giant, which bears the scientific name Icadyptes salasi, the researchers also found another extinct species of penguin: Perudyptes devriesi. With a body size of around 85 centimetres, it was roughly equivalent to a modern-day king penguin.
The habitat of these early penguins is particularly remarkable: they lived on the South American Pacific coast at a time when the climate there was still significantly warmer. It was previously assumed that penguins only migrated from the Antarctic towards the equator around 30 million years later, during a global cooling phase.
The giant bird Icadyptes stands out above all for its extremely long, pointed beak – a primitive feature reminiscent of the beak of a heron and no longer found in modern penguin species.
