Human-sized penguin lived in new zealand the remains of a giant penguin the size of a human have been discovered in new zealand.
The fossilized bones are of an animal thought to have been about five feet three inches tall weighing up to 176 pounds it lived in the polio scene epic between 66 and 56 million years ago the animal dubbed monster penguin by canterbury museum adds to the list of now extinct gigantic new zealand fauna parrots eagles burrowing bats in the moa a 3.6 meters tall bird also feature why was the penguin gigantic this is one of the largest penguin species ever found paul schofield the museum's senior curator told the news it was specific to the waters of the southern hemisphere.
He added penguins are thought to have become this big because large marine reptiles disappeared from the oceans around the same time that dinosaurs disappeared then for 30 million years it was the time of the giant penguins mr schofield said today's largest species the emperor penguin grows to about 1.2 meters tall we think that at the time animals were evolving very rapidly mr schofield explained water temperatures around new zealand were ideal back then around 77 f compared to the temperatures we have now during the time of the giant penguin new zealand was still joined with australia which in turn is thought to have been connected to antarctica the new species cross valley away forensics resembles another prehistoric giant penguin cross valley on eye and willia which was found at a site in antarctica according to the researchers the cross valley away forensics penguins feet probably played a bigger role in swimming than those of modern penguins it likely shared the waters around new zealand with giant turtles corals and strange-looking sharks mr schofield says why isn't it around anymore it's not entirely clear why the giant penguins disappeared from the waters of the southern hemisphere.
The most commonly held theory is that it's simply due to growing competition with marine mammals at the time giant penguins evolved the large marine reptiles just had become extinct gerald mayer another author of the new study told the bbc in antarctica and new zealand there were no large marine competitors until the arrival of toothed whales and pinipids seals many million years later the extinction of the giant penguins seems to correlate with the rise of these competitors but the exact reasons for the disappearance of giant penguins are still being discussed mr mayor cautions where was it found the leg bones of the new species were discovered at a site in north canterbury last year and have since been analyzed by an international team this site is pretty much unique mr schofield said it's a riverbed cutting into a cliff the place has been the site of fossil finds.
