+ - Paleontologists Unearth Giant Fossilized Penguin 1
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Ponca City, We Love You
Ponca City, We Love You writes "BBC reports that scientists have discovered the fossil of a penguin nearly five feet tall or twice the size of an Emperor Penguin, the largest living species, that lived 36 million years ago. "The heavier the penguin, the deeper it dives," says Julia Clarke, a palaeontologist at the University of Texas. "If that holds true for any penguins, then the dive depths achieved by these giant forms would've been very different." The bird, named Inkayacu paracasensis, or water king, lived during the late Eocene period and had a long, straight beak, much longer than that of its modern relatives but most surprisingly, the giant penguin's feathers were brown and grey, distinct from the black "tuxedo" look of modern penguins. "Insights into the colors of extinct organisms can reveal clues to their ecology and behavior," says Jakob Vinther of Yale University. "But most of all, I think it is simply just cool to get a look at the color of a remarkable extinct organism, such as a giant fossil penguin.""
First Tux (Score:1)