Waimanu - 60-million year old penguins from New Zealand

R Ewan Fordyce

The reconstruction shown here, by Chris Gaskin, is © Geology Museum, University of Otago.

An online article recently published in the journal Molecular       Biology and Evolution (March 2006) recognises a new genus of       ancient penguin (Waimanu) from New Zealand rocks some 60-62       million years old. The ancient penguins lived in shallow seas off       eastern New Zealand in Paleocene times, only a few million years       after the extinction of dinosaurs. These "proto" penguins       were about the size of living yellow-eyed penguins. They probably       looked a bit like shags (cormorants), but had compressed and dense       wing bones, allowing wings to be used to swim underwater. It is       most unlikely that the Waimanu penguins could fly in air.       These fossils are a little older than archaic penguins from Tierra       del Fuego, documented by Dr Julia Clarke and coauthors (2003), and       are the oldest fossil penguins reported       from New Zealand.

Because the Waimanu penguins are well dated in terms of       geological age, it is possible to use that known age to calibrate       a new molecular phylogeny - or pattern of relationships - for living       birds. The phylogeny shows a branching pattern of bird relationships       based on study of genetic material from a range of living birds       such as storks, albatrossses, ducks and moas. By using the dates       from the fossil Waimanu penguins as a calibration point,       we can then predict how far back in time the other groups of living       birds originated. If early penguins lived in southern seas not long       after the extinction of dinosaurs, then other bird groups more distantly       related to penguins must have been established even earlier.

Ewan Fordyce shows the position of the humerus, or upper wing bone, on a reconstruction of Waimanu tuatahi

The study suggests that many groups of living birds originated       well back in Cretaceous times, when dinosaurs were thriving - thus,       many modern lineages had ancient origins. Such a notion conflicts       with an idea suggested by Professor Alan Feduccia (1995, 2003),       who suggested that many living bird groups are geologically young,       and mostly represent groups that arose after dinosaurs went extinct.

Feduccia argued that most birds from Cretaceous times - from the       age of dinosaurs - were ancient lineages not related to living forms.       He suggested that those ancient bird groups disappeared, along with       dinosaurs, in a turnover at the catastrophic "KT boundary"       extinction 65 million years ago. Feduccia also suggested that there       was a complete new evolutionary radiation of "modern"       birds following the KT extinction.

Waimanu Reconstruction by G. Gaskin, showing 3 individuals of Waimanu tuatahi on a New Zealand beach in Paleocene times, 58-60 million years ago

Now, the new study which combines fossils and molecular approaches,       predicts that "modern" birds thrived in the age of dinosaurs.       We expect that the fossil record will continue to produce the hard       evidence of those birds.

Details of title and authorship

Early Penguin Fossils, plus Mitochondrial Genomes, Calibrate       Avian Evolution Kerryn E. Slack¹ , Craig M.       Jones² , Tatsuro Ando³ , G. L. (Abby) Harrison⁴, R. Ewan Fordyce³, Ulfur Arnason⁵,       and David Penny⁴

1. Allan Wilson Center for Molecular Ecology and Evolution Institute of Molecular BioSciences Massey University Palmerston North New Zealand; Division of Evolutionary Molecular Systematics Department of Cell and Organism Biology University of Lund Solvegatan 29 S-223 62 Lund Sweden
2. Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Lower Hutt New Zealand
3. Department of Geology, University of Otago Dunedin New Zealand
4. Allan Wilson Center for Molecular Ecology and Evolution Institute of Molecular BioSciences Massey University Palmerston North New Zealand
5. Division of Evolutionary Molecular Systematics Department of Cell and Organism Biology University of Lund Solvegatan 29 S-223 62 Lund Sweden

Read the full article – Early Penguin Fossils, plus Mitochondrial Genomes, Calibrate Avian Evolution

The first specimen of Waimanu was found in the 1980s,       by Brad Field (then of NZ Geological Survey), and was passed to       Ewan Fordyce for study. Craig Jones prepared the specimen - now       curated in the Geology Museum of University of Otago - while working       for Fordyce as a technician. Fordyce and Jones (1990) later published       some details of the first fossil. Subsequently, Al Mannering (of       Christchurch, affiliated with Canterbury Museum) discovered more       Paleocene penguins (Jones and Mannering 1997) which Mannering prepared;       those fossils are curated in Canterbury Museum, Christchurch. Most       recently, the Waimanu fossils have been studied in detail       by Geology graduate student Tatsuro Ando, as part of his PhD studies       at University of Otago. Al Mannering's sterling efforts of collecting       and preparation are honoured in the name of one of the species, Waimanu manneringi.

For details of molecular studies, contact Professor David Penny       of Massey University.

References

Clarke, J. A., Olivero, E. B., and Puerta, P. 2003. Description       of the earliest fossil penguin from South America and first Paleogene       vertebrate locality of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. American Museum       Novitates (3423): 1-18.

Feduccia, A. 1995. Explosive evolution in Tertiary birds and mammals.       Science 267 (5198): 637-8.

Feduccia, A. 2003. 'Big bang' for tertiary birds? Trends in Ecology       & Evolution 18 (4): 172-176.

Fordyce, R. E. and Jones, C. M. 1990. The history of penguins,       and new fossil penguin material from New Zealand. Pages 419-446       in Davis, L. S. and Darby, J. D. (editors), Penguin biology.       Academic Press, San Diego. 467 p.

Jones, C. M. and Mannering, A. 1997. New Paleocene fossil bird       material from the Waipara Greensand, North Canterbury, New Zealand.       Geological Society of New Zealand miscellaneous publication 95a:       88.

Simpson, G. G. 1971. A review of the pre-Pliocene penguins of New       Zealand. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 144:       321-378.