57-million-year-old giant penguin fossil discovered in New Zealand sheds light on ancient marine life

Fossils unearthed in New Zealand reveal Kumimanu fordycei, a giant penguin from the Paleocene epoch, weighing around 350 pounds. This discovery, published in the Journal of Paleontology, rewrites the penguin evolution timeline, indicating that penguins developed large body sizes much earlier than previously thought. Competition with marine mammals may have contributed to the extinction of these giant penguins.