| Aptenodytes ridgeni Temporal range: Early Pliocene? |
|
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Sphenisciformes |
| Family: | Spheniscidae |
| Genus: | Aptenodytes |
| Species: | A. ridgeni |
| Binomial name | |
| Aptenodytes ridgeni Simpson, 1972 |
|
Aptenodytes ridgeni, occasionally called Ridgen's Penguin, is an extinct species of penguin from the Early (possibly Late) Pliocene of New Zealand. It was intermediate in size between its living congeners, standing an estimated 90–100 cm tall.
Remains were first found in 1968 on a Canterbury region beach by 11-year-old schoolboy Alan Ridgen.[1]