Posted on 02/18/2006 11:37:42 AM PST by gobucks
Children on a fossil hunt have discovered the remains of what may have been the biggest penguin to waddle the planet.
The remains were found last month near Kawhia and are thought to be 40 million years old.
Experts think it may be the finest example of the long-extinct bird found. They say the Kawhia giant dwarfed the huge emperor penguin, and had it lived today would have looked many men in the eye.
The 22-strong expedition from the Hamilton Junior Naturalists Club were out to find fossils for a natural history museum at Te Kauri Lodge, near Kawhia, when one of them noticed what looked like several bones sticking out from a sandstone platform uncovered by the tide near Te Waitere in the Kawhia Harbour. Group leader and eco-guide Chris Templer had dreamed of making such a discovery since he began digging for fossils as a child.
"I went 'Oh my God', and just about keeled over on the reef," he said.
However, fearing the fossil may be ruined if too many people found out about it, he told the group they were old moa bones.
"I wanted to tell the kids but I just had to bite my tongue. I have dreamed about things like this and it's finally happened."
It was several weeks before Mr Templer dared to move it and then only after consultation with Te Papa and local Maori.
A group went out armed with power saws to remove the fossil in just a few hours when it was uncovered by the falling tide.
"We worked like galley slaves the whole day", said Mr Templer. "We got there, I believe, just in the nick of time."
The sea was already starting to erode some material.
"Within a matter of probably 18 months it would have gone or been unsalvagable. If I had blown it, my reputation would have been in tatters."
Alan Tennyson, curator of fossils at Te Papa, said the find could be internationally significant.
"I think it's very exciting to find something like this...it's a very rare event to find such a well preserved specimen. Forty million years ago was a long time."
Te Papa has only three bones from the largest ancient giant penguin. They were found near Oamaru by Charles Traill before 1872.
That bird was estimated to have stood about 1.5m tall and weigh more than 100kg.
Mr Tennyson believed the Kawhia giant penguin would have been a similar size.
"These ancient giant New Zealand penguins were very solid things. It does look like a very big penguin, one of the biggest I've ever seen."
Scientists know of about 12 extinct penguin varieties in New Zealand, with most represented by only one or two fossilised bones. The completeness of the Kawhia find made it more valuable.
"There have been more complete fossil penguins found in New Zealand than this Kawhia one, but very few, and this could be the most complete of the giant penguin." Mr Templer's early measurements led him to believe the bird may be the biggest in the world, and he hopes it will be kept between the Kawhia Museum and Te Kauri Lodge.
ROTFLMAO!!
Excellent post!
"What's that on the telly?"
Before anyone else gets their Monty Python quote in:
"oooh, intercoruse the penguin!"
(Been a while since you’ve posted. Hope everything’s OK.)
Damn! Can't even SPELL it right today. That SHOULD read:
"oooh, INTERCOURSE the penguin!"
My apologies...
"I wanted to tell the kids but I just had to bite my tongue. I have dreamed about things like this and it's finally happened."
....If I had blown it, my reputation would have been in tatters.
Yes children, science is all about truth, bar nothing else...
"Yes children, science is all about truth, bar nothing else..."
LOL!!
So, where is the lack of truth here?
Tell you what. I'll elaborate on my point if you can tell me, what in your post, is factually incorrect.
"Holy Gigantic Beast, Batman!!"
"They're talking about the animal, Robin, not my gut."
When we visited New Zealand, we went to the National Museum in Aukland, and took a picture of my sister (then eleven) right next to a life-size sculpture of one of these extinct giant penguins.
is that the GIANT ELECTIC PENGUIN?
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Note: this topic is from February 18, 2006. |
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