Kairuku

Kairuku is an extinct genus of penguin.[1] It contains two species, K. grebneffi and K. waitaki.[2] This taxon is known from bones from 27 MYA (late Oligocene), from the Kokoamu Greensand Formation of New Zealand.[1]

For the local-level government area in Papua New Guinea, see Kairuku Rural LLG.

Kairuku
Temporal range: late Oligocene
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Artist's impression of Kairuku
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Sphenisciformes
Genus: †Kairuku
Ksepka, Fordyce, Ando & Jones, 2012
Type species
Kairuku waitaki
Ksepka, Fordyce, Ando & Jones, 2012
Species
  • K. grebneffi Ksepka, Fordyce, Ando & Jones, 2012
  • Kairuku waitaki Ksepka, Fordyce, Ando & Jones, 2012

kairuku was quite large, standing approximately 1.7 metres in height and weighing around 50-80 kilograms

See also

References
  1. Ksepka, D.T.; Fordyce, R.E.; Ando, T. & Jones, C.M. (2012). "New fossil penguins (Aves, Sphenisciformes) from the Oligocene of New Zealand reveal the skeletal plan of stem penguins". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (2): 235–254. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.652051.
  2. Giant Prehistoric Penguin was Bigger Than an Emperor | Observations, Scientific American Blog Network
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