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A study from the University of Cambridge has identified a prehistoric penguin species that lived in the late Pliocene, about 3.36 to 3.06 million years ago. They consider it a A direct ancestor of the pygmy penguin (Eudyptula), also known as blue penguins or angel penguins, are the smallest species in a group of birds of which today there are two species: the dwarf penguin of Australia (Eudyptula novaehollandiae) and the New Zealand pygmy penguin (Eudyptula minor), the latter is smaller.
The animal they named Wilson’s Penguin (Eudyptula wilsonae), has many of the characteristics of its modern relatives and is the oldest known species of extinct little penguin. At less than half a meter tall and weighing a kilogram, it has been described by scientists as “absurdly adorable”.
A copy of pNew Zealand Dwarf Inguin (Eudyptula minorPhoto taken on Bruny Island (Tasmania).
Ancestor of dwarf penguins
The discovery was made possible by two fossilized skulls belonging to an adult and a juvenile found in the Late Pliocene Fossil Formation of New Zealand’s North Island. They compared them with other pygmy penguin species and concluded that it was a The ancestor of this lineage is the oldest known to date. The discovery of this new species further extends the dwarf penguin (genus Eudyptulameaning “little good diver”) are native to New Zealand.
The findings are important because the study of these nearly complete skulls revealed that these penguins are ancestral. Very little has changed in over 3 million years, suggesting that its adaptation to the environment is incredibly good because “the climate is undergoing great changes at this time.” Daniel Ksepka, one of the authors of the study, was amazed at how well equipped these “ridiculously adorable” penguins are. Even so, no skeletal elements other than the skull have been compared to extant species.
In fact, their modern cousins do just fine. Two known species of the genus EudyptulaNew Zealand pygmy penguin (Eudyptula minor) and the Australian pygmy penguin (Eudyptula novaehollandiae), is listed as “least concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), ie At least not in danger of disappearing in the near future. The species has a geographical distribution restricted to Oceania, but occasional specimens have been found on the coast of Chilean Patagonia and, although only once, also in Namibia.
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