Thursday, February 16, 2023

350 pound penguin?

Apparently, such a beastie once existed. It makes sense that penguins, which spend much of their time in buoyant water, might grow big. But this weighed more than an ostrich. Named Kumimamu fordycel, it was found on New Zealand's South Island. Oh, and this is more than three times the typical weight of an Emperor penguin.

The penguin was also taller than a man, albeit not by that much.

So, why don't we have giant penguins now? The giant penguin thrived in the late Paleocene era, only 5 to 10 million years after the destruction of the dinosaurs.

What happened after that time?

Cetaceans happened. Likely the giant penguins could not compete, in the end, with dolphins. Mammals have the advantage of not having to come ashore to breed, after all.

Or we'd probably still have giant penguins around in the antarctic today. Probably wouldn't want to mess with one...

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