Name: Kumimanu
(monster bird).
Phonetic: Ku-me-ma-nu.
Named By: G. Mayr, R. P. Scofield, V.
L. De Pietri & A. J. D. Tennyson - 2017.
Classification: Chordata, Aves, Sphenisciformes.
Species: K. biceae (type).
Diet: Piscivore.
Size: Roughly estimated to stand between 1.6
and 1.7 centimetres tall.
Known locations: New Zealand - Moeraki Formation.
Time period: Paleocene.
Fossil representation: Partial skeleton.
Kumimanu
is a genus of penguin that lived in New Zealand during the Paleocene
period. With a minimum height of one hundred and sixty centimetres,
Kumimanu was huge for a penguin. This makes Kumimanu
at least fifty
centimetres taller than the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes
forsteri)
which is the largest penguin alive today. Like living penguins,
Kumimanu is thought to have hunted fish.
Further reading
- A Paleocene penguin from New Zealand substantiates multiple origins
of gigantism in fossil Sphenisciformes. - Nature Communication
8:1927. - G. Mayr, R. P. Scofield, V. L. De Pietri
& A. J. D. Tennyson - 2017.
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