Giant penguin from New Zealand

["bh480@scn.org" <bh480@scn.org>]

From: Ben Creisler bh480@scn.org

The giant penguin story is probably this one from last February:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3576029a7693,00.html
Kawhia was home of the giant penguin 
18 February 2006  
By LUCY REED

Children on a fossil hunt have discovered the remains of what may have been
the biggest penguin to waddle the planet. 


The remains were found last month near Kawhia and are thought to be 40
million years old. 

Experts think it may be the finest example of the long-extinct bird found.
They say the Kawhia giant dwarfed the huge emperor penguin, and had it
lived today would have looked many men in the eye. 

The 22-strong expedition from the Hamilton Junior Naturalists Club were out
to find fossils for a natural history museum at Te Kauri Lodge, near
Kawhia, when one of them noticed what looked like several bones sticking
out from a sandstone platform uncovered by the tide near Te Waitere in the
Kawhia Harbour. Group leader and eco-guide Chris Templer had dreamed of
making such a discovery since he began digging for fossils as a child. 

"I went 'Oh my God', and just about keeled over on the reef," he said. 

However, fearing the fossil may be ruined if too many people found out
about it, he told the group they were old moa bones. 

"I wanted to tell the kids but I just had to bite my tongue. I have dreamed
about things like this and it's finally happened." 

AdvertisementAdvertisementIt was several weeks before Mr Templer dared to
move it and then only after consultation with Te Papa and local Maori. 

A group went out armed with power saws to remove the fossil in just a few
hours when it was uncovered by the falling tide. 

"We worked like galley slaves the whole day", said Mr Templer. "We got
there, I believe, just in the nick of time." 

The sea was already starting to erode some material. 

"Within a matter of probably 18 months it would have gone or been
unsalvagable. If I had blown it, my reputation would have been in tatters." 

Alan Tennyson, curator of fossils at Te Papa, said the find could be
internationally significant. 

"I think it's very exciting to find something like this...it's a very rare
event to find such a well preserved specimen. Forty million years ago was a
long time." 

Te Papa has only three bones from the largest ancient giant penguin. They
were found near Oamaru by Charles Traill before 1872. 

That bird was estimated to have stood about 1.5m tall and weigh more than
100kg. 

Mr Tennyson believed the Kawhia giant penguin would have been a similar
size. 

"These ancient giant New Zealand penguins were very solid things. It does
look like a very big penguin, one of the biggest I've ever seen." 

Scientists know of about 12 extinct penguin varieties in New Zealand, with
most represented by only one or two fossilised bones. The completeness of
the Kawhia find made it more valuable. 

"There have been more complete fossil penguins found in New Zealand than
this Kawhia one, but very few, and this could be the most complete of the
giant penguin." Mr Templer's early measurements led him to believe the bird
may be the biggest in the world, and he hopes it will be kept between the
Kawhia Museum and Te Kauri Lodge. 




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