Biology:Palaeospheniscus gracilis

Short description: Extinct species of bird

Palaeospheniscus gracilis Temporal range: Early Miocene (Colhuehuapian-Friasian) ~20.43–15.97 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Sphenisciformes
Family:	Spheniscidae
Genus:	†Palaeospheniscus
Species:	†P. gracilis
Binomial name
†Palaeospheniscus gracilis Ameghino 1899
Synonyms
Palaeospheniscus nereius Ameghino 1901 Neculus rothi Ameghino 1905 Paraspheniscus nereius Ameghino 1905 Palaeospheniscus medianus Ameghino 1905

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.

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 .

Some recent researchers have suggested that this species should be considered a synonym of Palaeospheniscus bergi.

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

Wikidata ☰ Q3889327 entry