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
Temporal range: Early Miocene (Colhuehuapian-Friasian)
~20.43–15.97 Ma
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Sphenisciformes
Family: Spheniscidae
Genus: †Palaeospheniscus
Species:
†P. gracilis
Binomial name
†Palaeospheniscus gracilis
Synonyms
  • Palaeospheniscus nereius
    Ameghino 1901
  • Neculus rothi
    Ameghino 1905
  • Paraspheniscus nereius
    Ameghino 1905
  • Palaeospheniscus medianus
    Ameghino 1905

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
  1. Palaeospheniscus gracilis at Fossilworks.org

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
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