Archaeospheniscus wimani
| Archaeospheniscus wimani Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Sphenisciformes |
| Family: | Spheniscidae |
| Genus: | †Archaeospheniscus |
| Species: | †A. wimani
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| Binomial name | |
| †Archaeospheniscus wimani (Marples, 1953)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Notodyptes wimani Marples, 1953 | |
Archaeospheniscus wimani is an extinct species of penguin. It was the smallest species of the genus Archaeospheniscus, being approximately 75–85 cm high, or about the size of a gentoo penguin. It is also the oldest known species of its genus, as its remains were found in Middle or Late Eocene strata (34-50 MYA) of the La Meseta Formation on Seymour Island, Antarctica. It is known from a fair number of bones.
The species' binomen honors Carl Wiman, an early 20th-century researcher who laid the groundwork for the classification of the prehistoric penguins.
References
- Jadwiszczak, Piotr (2006): Eocene penguins of Seymour Island, Antarctica: Taxonomy. Polish Polar Research 27(1): 3–62. PDF fulltext
- Marples, Brian J. (1953): Fossil penguins from the mid-Tertiary of Seymour Island. Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey Scientific Reports 5: 1–15. PDF fulltext (zipped)[permanent dead link]
- Myrcha, Andrzej; Jadwiszczak, Piotr; Tambussi, Claudia P.; Noriega, Jorge I.; Gaździcki, Andrzej; Tatur, Andrzej & Del Valle, Rodolfo A. (2002): Taxonomic revision of Eocene Antarctic penguins based on tarsometatarsal morphology. Polish Polar Research 23(1): 5–46. PDf fulltext