Penguins come in various sizes, from the fairy penguin (Eudyptula minor) standing at just over 30 centimeters tall to the 1-meter-high emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri). However, the size of today’s largest penguins pales in comparison to the mega-penguins that existed millions of years ago. Let’s take a closer look at some of these ancient giants.
Kumimanu fordycei
The title of the largest penguin ever documented goes to the species Kumimanu fordycei, which was first described in February 2023.
In 2018, Daniel Ksepka at the Bruce Museum in Connecticut and his colleagues unearthed an unusually large flipper bone of a penguin in southern New Zealand. This bone indicated that the bird probably weighed between 148 and 160 kilograms and stood around 1.6 meters tall. This size made the emperor penguin look like a child in comparison.
The species was named after palaeontologist Ewan Fordyce, who also made significant penguin discoveries in the 1970s.
Petradyptes stonehousei
Ksepka and his colleagues also discovered another giant penguin called Petradyptes stonehousei. This species was smaller than Kumimanu fordycei, weighing an estimated 50 kilograms. It retained features seen in earlier penguin species and adds to the evidence that penguins originated in New Zealand.
Palaeeudyptes klekowskii
The tallest penguin species known is Palaeeudyptes klekowskii, also known as the colossus penguin. It stood at 2 meters tall and weighed 115 kilograms. This species lived along the Antarctic coast 37 to 40 million years ago. Its larger body size allowed it to remain submerged for up to 40 minutes while hunting for fish.
Pachydyptes ponderosus
Pachydyptes ponderosus is a prehistoric giant that lived around 37 to 34 million years ago. It was estimated to be 1.5 meters tall and over 100 kilograms in weight. The few bones recovered suggest it was a thick and stocky animal.
Kairuku
The three species belonging to the genus Kairuku (K. grebneffi, K. waitaki, and K. waewaeroa) were tall and slender penguins. They lived approximately 34 to 27 million years ago. The tallest in the genus, K. waewaeroa, stood at around 1.4 meters tall and weighed about 80 kilograms.
