| Anthropornis | |
|---|---|
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| Size comparison of the Anthropornis nordenskjoeldi | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Sphenisciformes |
| Family: | Spheniscidae |
| Subfamily: | † Palaeeudyptinae |
| Genus: | † Anthropornis Wiman, 1905 |
| Species | |
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Anthropornis is a genus of giant penguin that lived 45-33 million years ago, during the Late Eocene and the earliest part of the Oligocene. [1]
Anthropornis reached 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) in length from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail, and 90 kg (200 lb) in weight. There is also an estimate that one remain of Anthropornis can reach that body length of 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) and 108 kg (238 lb) in weight. [2] Fossils of it have been found in the La Meseta Formation on Seymour Island off the coast of Antarctica and in New Zealand. By comparison, the largest modern penguin species, the emperor penguin, is just 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) long.
The type species, Anthropornis nordenskjoldi, had a bent joint in the wing, probably a vestigial trait from its flying ancestors.
Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the order Sphenisciformes of the family Spheniscidae. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapted for life in the ocean water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage and flippers for swimming. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid and other forms of sea life which they catch with their bills and swallow whole while swimming. A penguin has a spiny tongue and powerful jaws to grip slippery prey.
The emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching 100 cm (39 in) in length and weighing from 22 to 45 kg. Feathers of the head and back are black and sharply delineated from the white belly, pale-yellow breast and bright-yellow ear patches.
The gentoo penguin is a penguin species in the genus Pygoscelis, most closely related to the Adélie penguin and the chinstrap penguin. The earliest scientific description was made in 1781 by Johann Reinhold Forster with a type locality in the Falkland Islands. The species calls in a variety of ways, but the most frequently heard is a loud trumpeting, which the bird emits with its head thrown back.
The macaroni penguin is a species of penguin found from the Subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula. One of six species of crested penguin, it is very closely related to the royal penguin, and some authorities consider the two to be a single species. It bears a distinctive yellow crest that resembles a hairdo consisting of macaroni, from which its name is derived. Its face and upperparts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts. Adults weigh on average 5.5 kg (12 lb) and are 70 cm (28 in) in length. The male and female are similar in appearance; the male is slightly larger and stronger with a relatively larger bill. Like all penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine lifestyle.
The Antarctic fur seal, is one of eight seals in the genus Arctocephalus, and one of nine fur seals in the subfamily Arctocephalinae. Despite what its name suggests, the Antarctic fur seal is mostly distributed in Subantarctic islands and its scientific name is thought to have come from the German vessel SMS Gazelle, which was the first to collect specimens of this species from Kerguelen Islands.
The Northrop M2-F3 was a heavyweight lifting body rebuilt from the Northrop M2-F2 after it crashed at the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1967. It was modified with an additional third vertical fin - centered between the tip fins - to improve control characteristics. The "M" refers to "manned" and "F" refers to "flight" version.
The Weddell seal is a relatively large and abundant true seal with a circumpolar distribution surrounding Antarctica. The Weddell seal was discovered and named in the 1820s during expeditions led by British sealing captain James Weddell to the area of the Southern Ocean now known as the Weddell Sea. The life history of this species is well documented since it occupies fast ice environments close to the Antarctic continent and often adjacent to Antarctic bases. It is the only species in the genus Leptonychotes.
Pachydyptes is an extinct genus of penguin. It contains the single species Pachydyptes ponderosus, the New Zealand giant penguin. This taxon is known from a few bones from Late Eocene rocks in the area of Otago, which were found in two clades near a base of a tree.
Palaeeudyptes klekowskii, is an extinct species of the penguin genus Palaeeudyptes. It was until recently thought to have been approximately the size of its congener Palaeeudyptes antarcticus, which would mean it was somewhat larger than the modern emperor penguin, but a new study shows it was in fact almost twice as tall. Its maximum height is estimated to be up to 2 meters (6.6 ft) and maximum body mass up to 116 kg (256 lb). Knowledge of it comes from an extensive collection of fossil bones from the Late Eocene of the La Meseta Formation on Seymour Island, Antarctica. P. klekowskii was at first not recognized as a distinct species, and despite the coexistence of two so closely related species of similar size as Palaeeudyptes gunnari and P. klekowskii seeming somewhat improbable, the amount of fossil material suggests that the two species are indeed diagnosably different.
Icadyptes is an extinct genus of giant penguins from the Late Eocene tropics of South America.
The largest prehistoric animals include both vertebrate and invertebrate species. Many of them are described below, along with their typical range of size. Many species mentioned might not actually be the largest representative of their clade due to the incompleteness of the fossil record and many of the sizes given are merely estimates since no complete specimen have been found. Their body mass, especially, is largely conjecture because soft tissue was rarely fossilized. Generally the size of extinct species was subject to energetic and biomechanical constraints.
The largest animal currently alive is the blue whale. The maximum recorded weight was 190 tonnes for a specimen measuring 27.6 metres (91 ft), whereas longer ones, up to 33.6 metres (110 ft), have been recorded but not weighed. It is estimated, this individual could have a mass of 250 tonnes. The longest non-colonial animal is the lion's mane jellyfish.
The La Meseta Formation is a sedimentary sequence deposited during the Eocene. The formation is found on Seymour Island, Antarctica.
The wildlife of Antarctica are extremophiles, having adapted to the dryness, low temperatures, and high exposure common in Antarctica. The extreme weather of the interior contrasts to the relatively mild conditions on the Antarctic Peninsula and the subantarctic islands, which have warmer temperatures and more liquid water. Much of the ocean around the mainland is covered by sea ice. The oceans themselves are a more stable environment for life, both in the water column and on the seabed.
Kumimanu is an extinct genus of giant penguin, which lived around 60 to 56 million years ago. The type species is K. biceae, which arose after the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs. Fossils were found in New Zealand, and the discovery was announced in December 2017. A second species, Kumimanu fordycei, was named in February 2023.
Formerly or currently considered subspecies or populations of brown bears have been listed as follows:
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