Palaeospheniscus patagonicus
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| Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Fossil range: Early Miocene |
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Fossil
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| Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Moreno & Mercerat, 1891 |
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Palaeospheniscus patagonicus is the type species of the penguin genus Palaeospheniscus, which is known from fossils. It stood about 65-75 cm high in life, roughly the size of an African Penguin.
This species is known from several dozen bones, found in Early Miocene strata of the Patagonian Molasse Formation. The specimens from known localities were collected near Trelew and Gaiman in Chubut Province, Argentina.
Currently, there is some debate about whether Palaeospheniscus wimani is a synonym of this species or not.
[edit] References
- Moreno, Francisco "Perito" & Mercerat, A. (1891): Catálogo de los pájaros fósiles de la República Argentina conservados en el Museo de La Plata. Anales del Museo de La Plata 1: 7-71, 21 plates.
- Simpson, George Gaylord (1946): Fossil penguins. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 87: 7-99. PDF fulltext
- Simpson, George Gaylord (1971): Conspectus of Patagonian fossil penguins. American Museum Novitates 2488: 1-37. PDF fulltext
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