Palaeeudyptes marplesi facts for kids

The Marples' penguin (Palaeeudyptes marplesi) was a very large type of penguin that is now extinct. This means it no longer lives on Earth. It belonged to a group of ancient penguins called Palaeeudyptes.

This amazing bird could stand between 105 and 145 centimeters (about 3.5 to 4.7 feet) tall. That's even taller than today's emperor penguin, which is the largest living penguin! Scientists are still studying how closely related Marples' penguin was to another slightly smaller ancient penguin called the narrow-flippered penguin (Palaeeudyptes antarcticus). It's possible they were the same species, or maybe one was a type of the other.

Discovering Marples' Penguin

This ancient penguin is known from some bones that were found in New Zealand. These bones include parts of its legs. They were discovered in rocks from the Middle or Late Eocene period, which was about 34 to 40 million years ago. The bones were found in a place called Burnside, Dunedin.

Many other fossil bones have been found that scientists thought might belong to this penguin. However, it's hard to know their exact age. Also, these bones are often in between the sizes of Marples' penguin and the narrow-flippered penguin. Because of this, scientists need to study all the penguin fossils from New Zealand more carefully. This research might show that Marples' penguin was an older, larger ancestor or a type of the narrow-flippered penguin.

Who Was Marples?

The scientific name of this penguin, Palaeeudyptes marplesi, was chosen to honor Brian J. Marples. He was a very important scientist who studied fossil penguins in the 20th century. Naming the penguin after him was a way to remember his great work.