Today in TechGiant Happy Feet: Extinct penguin species named tallest and heaviest that ever lived
Millions of years ago, there lived penguins so huge they may have been able to parry the attacks of dolphins with their humongous, fish-catching beaks. The bones of some of these prehistoric flightless birds were discovered in 1977, and scientists have just recently completed piecing them together. With fully-assembled skeletons in their possession, the scientists realized that the penguin species they decided to name Kairuku grebneffi was actually the tallest and heaviest that ever lived.
The specimens discovered in New Zealand lived 27 million years ago, stood almost 5' tall, and weighed roughly 130 lbs. In comparison, the emperor penguins — which are the largest living species — are around 2' in height and can reach 99 lbs. in weight. As avian paleontologist Daniel Ksepka said, "It's almost like someone took an emperor penguin and stretched it out." The Kairuku penguins were slender and tall, with long flippers and legs.
Sadly, the Kairuku penguins went extinct millions of years ago and left no descendants. While the species is currently recognized as the largest penguin in history, it may soon be dethroned for being the tallest — the fossils of what scientists think may be an even taller penguin were recently unearthed in Peru.
[Image credit: Wikimedia]
[via Discovery, Scientific American]
This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca
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