Dubbed Crossvallia waiparensis, the penguin soared to a height of around five feet and two inches, and weighed between 154 and 176 pounds. That makes the bird considerably bigger than the largest extant penguin species, the Emperor penguin, which can grow to around four feet tall and weigh up to 88 pounds. Based on the analysis of C. waiparensis’ leg bones, Scofield and his colleagues think the species’ feet played a bigger role in swimming than those of modern penguins, but it is also possible that the bird had not fully adapted to standing upright.

Intriguingly, the closest known relative of C. waiparensis is Crossvallia unienwillia, a Paleocene species that was discovered in Antarctica in 2000. The landmass that would become New Zealand began splitting from Antarctica some 80 million years ago, but during the era of the giant penguins, the regions boasted similarly warm environments.

“When the Crossvallia species were alive, New Zealand and Antarctica were very different from today—Antarctica was covered in forest and both had much warmer climates,” Scofield explains. The similarities between the two species thus highlight New Zealand’s “close connection to the icy continent,” as the Canterbury Museum puts it.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/human-sized-penguin-once-waddled-through-new-zealand-180972904/

PermeateFree said:

Dubbed Crossvallia waiparensis, the penguin soared to a height of around five feet and two inches, and weighed between 154 and 176 pounds. That makes the bird considerably bigger than the largest extant penguin species, the Emperor penguin, which can grow to around four feet tall and weigh up to 88 pounds. Based on the analysis of C. waiparensis’ leg bones, Scofield and his colleagues think the species’ feet played a bigger role in swimming than those of modern penguins, but it is also possible that the bird had not fully adapted to standing upright.

Intriguingly, the closest known relative of C. waiparensis is Crossvallia unienwillia, a Paleocene species that was discovered in Antarctica in 2000. The landmass that would become New Zealand began splitting from Antarctica some 80 million years ago, but during the era of the giant penguins, the regions boasted similarly warm environments.

“When the Crossvallia species were alive, New Zealand and Antarctica were very different from today—Antarctica was covered in forest and both had much warmer climates,” Scofield explains. The similarities between the two species thus highlight New Zealand’s “close connection to the icy continent,” as the Canterbury Museum puts it.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/human-sized-penguin-once-waddled-through-new-zealand-180972904/

Very interesting news. About 30% taller than the Emperor Penguin. The bones don’t look that much longer.

> during the era of the giant penguins, the regions boasted similarly warm environments.

Yes, I suspect that claims that penguins can’t survive global warming are exaggerated. There are penguins that live on the equator.

From technical paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2019.1641619

It’s a good review of ancient penguin fossils.

“THE WAIPARA GREENSAND in Canterbury, New Zealand, is arguably the most significant locality for Paleocene penguin fossils. The first specimens from these Teurian (about 62‒58 million years ago) marine deposits were collected more than three decades ago. “The world’s oldest penguin?”. The authors distinguished two species, Waimanu manneringi and Muriwaimanu tuatahi. Sequiwaimanu rosieaeis represented by a partial skeleton including the skull and most limb bones except for the tarsometatarsus. …

Humans can be penguin sized