''Waimanu'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of early

penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

which lived during the

Paleocene The Paleocene ( ), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), ...

, soon after the

Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction event, also known as the K–T extinction, was the extinction event, mass extinction of three-quarters of the plant and animal species on Earth approximately 66 million years ago. The event cau ...

, around 62–60 million years ago. It was about the size of an

emperor penguin The emperor penguin (''Aptenodytes forsteri'') is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is Endemism in birds, endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching in length and weighing fr ...

(1 metre (3.3 ft)). It is one of the most important bird fossils for understanding the origin and evolution of birds because of the time period it comes from, and the position of penguins near the base of the bird family tree. Waimanu BW

''Waimanu'' was a very early member of the

Sphenisciformes Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

, the order that includes modern penguins. However, although it was probably flightless like all modern penguins, with wings specialized for wing-propelled diving, its wing bones do not yet show the extreme specializations modern penguins have for an aquatic lifestyle. It may have resembled a flightless

loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British English, British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family (biolog ...

or diver in body shape, and possibly the

great auk The great auk (''Pinguinus impennis''), also known as the penguin or garefowl, is an Extinction, extinct species of flightless bird, flightless auk, alcid that first appeared around 400,000 years ago and Bird extinction, became extinct in the ...

in its manner of locomotion.

Discovery

''Waimanu'' was discovered in the Basal

Waipara Greensand The Waipara Greensand is a geological rock unit found in Canterbury, New Zealand. It dates from just after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, the Selandian and Thanetian, around 62–58 million years ago in the Palaeocene. It is well ...

near the Waipara River, in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, in 1980. The

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

is a partial skeleton comprising almost complete right tibiotarsus, proximal half of right fibula, right tarsometatarsus, right pelvis, and synsacrum (with last thoracic vertebra attached to the synsacrum), four caudal vertebrae. It is held in the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Etymology

The genus name ''Waimanu'' comes from the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

''wai'' for "water" and ''manu'' for "bird". One species is known, ''W. manneringi'', named for Al Mannering who found and collected the

specimen. A second species, ''Waimanu tuatahi'', was moved to ''

Muriwaimanu ''Muriwaimanu'' is an extinct genus of early penguin from the Paleocene Waipara Greensand of New Zealand. Only the type species ''M. tuatahi'' is known. Etymology The name ''Muriwaimanu'' comes from ''muri'', Māori for "after", and ''Waimanu ...

'' in 2018.

Significance

The discovery of ''Waimanu'' provided evidence for debate about whether the radiation of modern birds,

Neoaves Neoaves is a clade that consists of all modern bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard ...

, took place before the extinction of the non-avian

dinosaurs Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

or extremely rapidly immediately after. DNA studies, combined with the fossil evidence, seem to indicate the latter.

References

External links

Images of ''Waimanu'' specimens and a phylogram of early birds.

Skull of world's oldest penguin found
{{Taxonbar, from=Q138638 Prehistoric bird genera Sphenisciformes Paleocene birds Extinct penguins Extinct birds of New Zealand Fossil taxa described in 2006