Newly discovered fossil sets record for largest known penguin

• 130 lbs. the weight of a considerably colossal, ancient penguin, as extrapolated from a recently unearthed fossil
• 5 feet the portly penguin’s height, making it both the tallest and heaviest penguin known to science source

» Move over, Emperor penguin. While you may be the largest penguin left in these modern times, 27 million years ago you would have been dwarfed by science’s latest fossil discovery, the Kairuku grebneffi, found in New Zealand. It’s believed that their longer, curved beaks allowed them to easily spear fish for food. As described by Otago University’s Ewan Fordyce: “…relatively longer bills and a more slender body than in living species. The wing was probably able to flex a little more.”

Read ShortFormBlog • Follow