The World's Biggest Penguin Ever: Bigger than the Emperor Penguin: Largest Ever!

The largest penguin alive today is the Emperor Penguin! Up until this past year (2010) they have been believed to be the largest penguins to have ever walked this earth. Recently scientists have uncovered a new species of penguin that is twice the size of an Emporer Penguin and stood 5 feet tall! They have been dubbed the Water King Penguin, not to be confused with the King Penguin, which is still alive today and is the second largest living penguin species today. The Water King Penguin, known to the scientific world as Inkayacu Paracasensis, was discovered in Peru and believed to have lived in prehistoric times 36 million years ago! One of the neatest parts of the discovery was that they actually found fossilized feathers showing that this great creature was a mix of reddish brown and gray. It was through research of these prehistoric penguins that scientists learned more about the modern penguins.

This ancient penguin was originally discovered on a desert in Peru in 2007. Although it took until only recently in 2010 to report the findings.This great find was actually an accidental discovery of a student of the Museo de Historia Natural in Lima (Museum of Natural History). Could you imagine the great joy of this student as he unearths a mystery, before he has even become a full-fledged paleontologist. Oh, that would be a dream come true! His original discovery was of a foot of the bird that had scales. Scales being rarely preserved over the millions of years was a rare and magnificent find!

There actually were two other giant penguins also discovered in this same area, although the King Water Penguin was by far the largest measuring the same height as many adult humans at five feet. The Emperor Penguin measures at only 4 feet, although this Peruvian find is believed to be twice as large in weight and volume.Although it was not the size that captured so many scientists attention, but it was its unique feathers. This was the first time preserved feathers from prehistoric penguins had ever been discovered. They also have preserved scales from the bottom of these penguins feet as well. Maybe soon we will find a drastic difference from these as well.

Aside from the unique color of the fossilized feathers, scientists discovered some other neat information about how penguins became such great swimmers.They not only were able to uncover feathers from the flipper, but also from the body, as one excavator was fortunate enough to find a fossilized flipper that had both types of feathers attached. At first glance, the feathers appeared to be just like the feathers of today's penguins.Today's penguins have flipper feathers that have densely stacked feathers that allow the flipper to be stiff, which allows it to move very quickly through the water, changing directions and maneuvering very easily. Although at first glance the Water King Penguins feathers appeared to be the same, but they were far different.

Unexpectedly, it was not the difference in the actual structure of feathers, but the composition of the feathers DNA. More specifically the make-up of it that usually pertains more to color than to ability of the feather that allows the birds to be such excellent swimmers.

Some of you may have wondered how in the world they were able to determine the color of the water penguin. Aren't all fossils gray? Well, yes. But they were able to discover the color of the water kings feathers due to traces of melanosomes that can be found in fossils. For instance, our skin has melanin, so if you have ever heard there are many colors of humans, black, white, red, well, that's not true. We are all the same color and that is melanin, it's just some of us have an abundant of melanin and have very dark skin, whereas pasty folks like myself, lack in melanin. Well, melanosomes can determine what color the fossil would have had. By comparing the malanosomes in many different creatures it was determined that the King Water penguin had a mix of reddish brown and gray feathers.

Although this in and of itself does not seem particularly unusual, it's the way these melanosomes presented themselves in the DNA of the King Water feather. It is believed that the dark black tuxedo look of modern penguins has more to do with swimming prowess than sex or camouflage as previously believed.  Penguins melanosomes usually are grape like, whereas most other birds do not. The King Water penguins feathers melanosomes were more like that of other birds. Now you may wonder how this would pertain to its ability to swim, but really it's quite related. Melanin, the coloring product found in melanosomes, help protect the feather from breakage. Those of modern penguins had more grape-like melanin and therefore, were less likely to break than those of the King Water Penguin and other birds. This may have caused the demise of the King Water Penguin since it was not as adept at swimming or as many scientists believe, the King Water Penguin's feathers began to evolve to allow for better swimming producing the modern penguin.

• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/30/inkayacu-paracasensis-wat_n_745737.html
• http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2010/10/the-water-king-a-prehistoric-penguin-as-tall-as-a-human-discovered.html
• http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978563946