The find was made at Seymour Island, part of a chain of islands off the Antarctic peninsula.
Bones belonging to a giant penguin that existed 37 to 40 million years ago have been unearthed by palaeontologists.
The
latest findings have enabled researchers to conclude that the so-called
'colossus penguin' was bigger than any penguin that came before or
after it.
The
species known as measured a staggering 6.63
feet (2.02 metres) from the tip of its beak to its toes, making it
bigger even than the modern emperor pENGIUN.
THE LANGUAGE OF PENGUINS
Researchers,
led by Dr Livio Favaro from the University of Turin, collected,
categorised, and acoustically analysed hundreds of audio and video vocal
recordings from penguins.
All were taken from a captive colony of 48 African penguins at the Zoom zoo in Torino, Italy.
This group was made up of 15 males, 17 females, eight juveniles aged between three and 12 months, and eight nesting chicks.
The results revealed that all the penguins have four essential vocalisations: a contact call emitted by isolated birds, an agonistic call used to signal aggression, an ecstatic display song uttered by single birds during the breeding season, and a mutual display song made by pairs at their nests.
The authors also identified two distinct vocalisations interpreted as begging calls by chicks, in the form of a begging ‘peep’, and a begging moan.
All were taken from a captive colony of 48 African penguins at the Zoom zoo in Torino, Italy.
This group was made up of 15 males, 17 females, eight juveniles aged between three and 12 months, and eight nesting chicks.
The results revealed that all the penguins have four essential vocalisations: a contact call emitted by isolated birds, an agonistic call used to signal aggression, an ecstatic display song uttered by single birds during the breeding season, and a mutual display song made by pairs at their nests.
The authors also identified two distinct vocalisations interpreted as begging calls by chicks, in the form of a begging ‘peep’, and a begging moan.
According to
Dr Carolina Acosta Hospitaleche of the La Plata Museum in Argentina
this region was much warmer 37 to 40 million years ago.
It was ‘a wonderful time for penguins, when 10 to 14 species lived together along the Antarctic coast,’ she told New ScientiSTS.
Dr
Hospitaleche found the most complete skeleton of the colossus penguin
earlier this year, but these latest finds include part of a wing, the
humerus, and the joint between the ankle and foot bone, known as the
tarsometatarsus.
Although
the humerus cannot be used to make estimates of a penguin’s size and
mass, the tarsometatarsus is usable in this regard.
At
3.6 inches (9.1 centimetres) in length, this tarsometatarsus set a
record for penguins and led Dr Hospitaleche to conclude that the penguin
stood 5.25 feet (1.6 metres) tall from head to toe - and 6.63 feet
(2.02 metres) tall if its beak was extended upwards.
This makes it larger than any penguin known to exist, even the emperor penguin that exists today.
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