New Zealand school kids discover fossils of ancient giant penguins
Recommended for Middle Grades
In 2006, a group of school kids in New Zealand discovered fossils of ancient giant penguins. They found the fossils in rock which are about 30 million years old.
Now, palaeontologists have examined and formally confirmed the find. They said that the penguin is similar to the Kairuku giant penguins found earlier. But these ancient giant penguins had much longer legs. So they have named it Kairuku waewaeroa which means “long legs” in the Te reo Māori language.
These ancient giant penguins were about 1.4 metres tall. Their long legs would have affected how fast they could swim or how deep they could dive.
Moreover, scientists have found the fossils of at least 10 known ancient giant penguins in Zealandia.
What is Zealandia?
Zealandia is a huge continent located at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, under New Zealand. It used to be part of Gondwana, an ancient supercontinent. But it broke off 85 million years ago and eventually sank below the ocean. Now, the only visible parts of it are New Zealand and other small islands.
Large sizes of animals and birds
A lot of times, scientists have found animals and birds that are larger than others of their family in isolated places (like islands). So, it seems, natural selection tends to shape birds into giants when they’re isolated in a habitat free of predators.
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