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Mon 20 Feb, 2006 10:47 am
40 million-year-old "giant" fossil found in New Zealand
Fri Feb 17, 3:31 PM ET
WELLINGTON (AFP) - A group of New Zealand school children have found the remains of what is believed to be a 40 million-year-old "giant" penguin, a report said.
Had the species of penguin survived to the present day it would have looked "many men in the eye," the Waikato Times report said.
The remains were found last month near Kawhia, on the west coast of the North Island, by children looking for fossils for a nearby natural history museum.
"I went 'Oh my God,' and just about keeled over on the reef," group leader Chris Templer recalled saying when several bones were seen sticking out from a sandstone platform uncovered by the tide.
Alan Tennyson, curator of fossils at the Museum of New Zealand in Wellington, said the find could be internationally significant.
"I think it's very exciting to find something like this ... it's a very rare event to find such a well preserved specimen. Forty million years ago was a long time," he said.
Bones from the largest ancient giant penguin, found in New Zealand more than 130 years ago, indicate the bird stood about 1.5 metres (five feet) tall and weighed more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds).
WOW!
that is really cool.
Im off to hunt pictures..
Hahahaha... what a funny thing to be a giant!
uh, remember, theyre carnivorous.
I saw that on telly the other night...rather unusual find.
THERES A PENGUIN ON THE TELLYVISION
Carnivores with no teeth.... right? GiaNT PENGUINS ARE AS FUNNY, TO ME, AS GIANT SLOTHS. Sorry about the caps....
New Zealand IS a giant fossil!
I've just returned from there.
Giant carniverous penguins, even.
Then again, we've known that penguins were evil and not to be trusted since
http://popcorn.cx/wg/films/twt/images/gun.jpg
Emperor penguins arn't that much smaller...height wise anyway.
"Emperor penguins are the largest of all penguins. The average 44 inches high (1.15 meters) and 66 pounds (30 kilos) in weight."
http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/downey/project/penguins.html
nimh wrote:Giant carniverous penguins, even.
Just wait until Gus hears about this.
And if you look closely, seals disguised as large rocks.
The actual Bad Boy... ready to eat ya
Info
Another type of non flying bird thought to be extinct.
well... IS extinct..
werent they carnivores as well? The do do's?
ros, that is one ugly water chicken. It reminds me of that dumb buzzard with the Adams apple that used to be in the Bugs Bunny cartoons I watched as a kid.
farmerman wrote:ros, that is one ugly water chicken. It reminds me of that dumb buzzard with the Adams apple that used to be in the Bugs Bunny cartoons I watched as a kid.
Ha, I remember that buzzard in BB also
That penguin looks like a frankenstein penguine to me.