Palaeospheniscus gracilis
Palaeospheniscus gracilis is a species of the extinct penguin genus Palaeospheniscus. It is the smallest species of its genus, with a height of 40 to 60 centimetres (16 to 24 in). Average individuals, thus, were about the size of the Galapagos penguin.
| Palaeospheniscus gracilis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Sphenisciformes |
| Family: | Spheniscidae |
| Genus: | †Palaeospheniscus |
| Species: | †P. gracilis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Palaeospheniscus gracilis Ameghino 1899 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Description
This species was long believed to have first been found in Early Oligocene deposits. However, it seems that the type specimen, a tarsometatarsus, was recovered not from Early Oligocene rocks, but was found on top of them, having been displaced there from a later stratum. The location where the bone was found seems to have been near Cabeza Blanca. At any rate, all later specimens were found in the Early Miocene Gaiman Formation; those that have locality data are from the area around Trelew and Gaiman in Chubut Province, Argentina.[1]
Some recent researchers have suggested that this species should be considered a synonym of Palaeospheniscus bergi.
References
Further reading
- Ameghino, Florentino (1899): [Description of Palaeospheniscus gracilis]. In: Sinopsis geologico-paleontologica (Segundo censo de la República Argentina). Suplemento.: 9. La Plata: La Libertad.
- 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