A fossil of the largest new penguin of the same size as humans is discovered

In New Zealand, a huge penguin fossil with a body length similar to the average height of a human male was discovered. This penguin may be the oldest seed of the huge penguin that ceased flying and advanced into the sea.

A Paleocene penguin from New Zealand substantiates multiple origins of gigantism in fossil Sphenisciformes | Nature Communications
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-01959-6

Ancient man-sized penguin found in New Zealand beach
https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/man-sized-penguin-zealand-12122017/

The research group of Dr. Gerald Mayr of Senckenberg Institute excavated a part of ancient penguin fossils from the coast of the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. I named it "Kumimanu biceae (Kumimanu · beechaea)" as a new kind of penguin. "Kumi" is meiotic giant creatures of Maori indigenous people, "Manu" seems to mean birds.

The skeleton of Kumimanu biceae found contains 161 millimeter femur and the body length of Kumimanu biceae was estimated to be 177 centimeters by comparing it with that of other fossil penguin fossils. In other words, it is a penguin as large as a human adult man.


In addition to Kumimanu biceae, several seeds of huge penguins have been discovered, such as Icadyptes, Inkayacu, Pachydyptes, etc. about 150 centimeters in length are known. However, researchers said that Kumimanu biceae has a length that is 7 inches (about 18 centimeters) greater than the species considered to be the largest in the past. However, Dr. Mayr says, "I think Kumimanu biceae could have been slim body shape, I think that it was not that pretty appearance."


Also, from the strata where fossils were found, speculation was given that Kumimanu biceae had inhabited about 60 to 55 million years ago. From here, Kumimanu biceae is expected to be the oldest species as a huge penguin.

When dinosaurs died extinct about 65 million years ago, marine insects whose natural enemies have disappeared expanded their habitat widely, but extinction of dinosaurs ceased to fly in the sky and penguins that transferred habitats in the sea It is considered to be a big opportunity. The penguin that went into the sea got rich food and the body length rapidly increased to about 150 centimeters which is twice that of the penguin. The research group believes that Kumimanu biceae, which had inhabited about 60 to 55 million years ago, is the earliest species evolved into "gigantic penguins" as the penguins begin to grow.