The first representatives of the bird family were unusually large, in particular, the kairuku penguins Kairuku grebneffi and
The authors of the new work found fossils of one of the Kairuku's closest relatives: it also lived about 27-30 million years ago. Scientists named the new species Kairuku waewaeroa, or long-legged diver.
He was given this name because of his unusually long legs. Thanks to them, the birds were 10-15 centimeters taller than their closest neighbors and relatives.
This penguin looks like giant penguinsKairuku, but he has much longer legs. These longer legs made him much taller than other kairuku. When he walked overland, it is possible that his height reached 1.4 meters in height. It may have also influenced how fast he could swim or how deep he could dive.
Daniel Thomas, doctor from Massey University
The authors believe that the unusual structure of the bird's bones helped it swim faster and dive deeper, as well as move more actively on land.
They noted that the species was more similar to what penguins look like today.
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