Palaeeudyptinae
|
Palaeeudyptinae Temporal range: Middle/Late Eocene -? Middle Miocene |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Pachydyptes ponderosus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Sphenisciformes |
| Family: | Spheniscidae |
| Subfamily: |
Palaeeudyptinae Simpson, 1946 |
| Genera | |
|
Palaeeudyptes |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Anthropornithidae Simpson, 1946 |
|
Palaeeudyptes
Archaeospheniscus
Anthropornis
Pachydyptes
Platydyptes
and see article text
Anthropornithidae Simpson, 1946
The giant penguins, Palaeeudyptinae, are an extinct subfamily of penguins. It includes several genera of medium-sized to very large species – including Palaeeudyptes marplesi, the 1.5 meter tall Icadyptes salasi, Anthropornis nordenskjoeldi which grew 1.5 meters (4 ft 11.1 in) tall or even larger, and the massive Pachydyptes ponderosus which weighed at least as much as an adult human male.
They belonged to an evolutionary lineage more primitive than modern penguins. In some taxa at least, the wing, while already having lost the avian feathering, had not yet transformed into the semi-rigid flipper found in modern penguin species: While the ulna and the radius were already flattened to increase propelling capacity, the elbow and wrist joints still retained a higher degree of flexibility than the more rigidly lockable structure found in modern genera. The decline and eventual disappearance of this subfamily seems to be connected to increased competition as mammal groups such as cetaceans and pinnipeds became better-adapted to a marine lifestyle in the Oligocene and Miocene.
...
Wikipedia