Fossil reveals giant new penguin species that lived 27 million years ago

A group of kids in Hamilton, New Zealand, went on a fossil-hunting field trip 15 years ago, and discovered the remains of a penguin. It turned out to be the fossil of a giant penguin's bones — which paleontologists have now determined is a brand new species.

In a recent study published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, scientists said that the fossil is also one of the most complete skeletons of a giant penguin discovered so far. 

"To be the first people to lay eyes on that penguin after 27 million years must have been quite a treat," paleontologist and study co-author Daniel Ksepka told As It Happens host Carol Off on Friday.

"And I think that, over time, they've probably become even more excited about it because the penguin now has a name, it's on display in a museum, and it's telling us a lot about the early evolution of penguins."

The penguin's scientific name is Kairuku waewaeroa, which means "long legs" in Maori. Based on the fossil, scientists estimate that the penguin would have been around 1.6 metres long from the tip of its beak to its toes. Standing up it was likely about 1.4 metres tall.

That means this ancient penguin would have been 60 per cent bigger than the emperor penguin, the largest living penguin species today.

Another reason why it was named the long-legged penguin is because a few million years later, similar penguins appeared, but with chunky legs. According to Ksepka, the slender legs studied on the fossil are most likely a primitive feature.