Re: Proto-penguins lived with dinosaurs

[Phil Bigelow <bigelowp@juno.com>]

It is an interesting (even an important) find.  But it does raise a big
paleoecological question.  Since modern penguins are pelagic feeders, I
wonder what their K-T ancestors ate during the mass extinction.  (The K-T
event was not particularly kind to pelagic taxa).

<pb>
--

On Sun, 09 Apr 2006 01:05:22 -0400 Michael Habib <mhabib5@jhmi.edu>
writes:
> The article is indeed misleading (though it clears things up a bit if 
> 
> you read through the whole thing).  What the authors actually did is 
> 
> use the new Paleocene fossils as _calibration_ points for a 
> molecular 
> phylogeny of extant penguins.  In doing so, they created a dated 
> phylogeny whose estimated root node (ie. base of a monophyletic 
> Sphenisciformes) has a near K/T date.  The date for the Waimanu 
> fossils 
> themselves was determined in typical fashion (I don't know if the 
> date 
> is paleomagnetic or radioisotopic in nature).  Basically they could 
> 
> recalibrate the molecular phylogeny for penguins using an additional 
> 
> (and very ancient) absolute date.
> 
> In terms of the taxon actually being a penguin, I would be very 
> surprised if the animals turn out to be anything else.  Ewan Fordyce 
> 
> gave me a sneak peek at some very high resolution photos a while 
> back, 
> and they are amazing critters.  The postcrania is pretty well 
> derived 
> already, so there isn't much question that the animals are fully 
> fledged Sphensciforms.  (I also got to see the newest giants that 
> are 
> referenced in the article, but I'll refrain from saying more until 
> the 
> paper is released).
> 
> Very cool stuff.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> --Mike Habib
> 
> 


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