An enigmatic fossil penguin from the Eocene of Antarctica

Tarsometatarsi are key skeletal elements in penguin palaeontology. They constitute, among others, type specimens of all 10 widely accepted species of fossil penguins from the Eocene La Meseta Formation on Seymour Island (Graham Land, Antarctic Peninsula). Here, we report on a recently collected larg...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Research
Main Authors: Piotr Jadwiszczak, Thomas Mörs
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Norwegian Polar Institute 2017
Subjects:
Antarctic Peninsula
La Meseta Formation
Paleogene
Sphenisciformes
tarsometatarsus
new morphotype
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Oceanography
GC1-1581
Antarctic
Seymour
Seymour Island
Graham Land
Antarc*
Antarctica
Polar Research
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1080/17518369.2017.1291086
https://doaj.org/article/f871b674a7c0485e85ad78218b07b282
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Summary:Tarsometatarsi are key skeletal elements in penguin palaeontology. They constitute, among others, type specimens of all 10 widely accepted species of fossil penguins from the Eocene La Meseta Formation on Seymour Island (Graham Land, Antarctic Peninsula). Here, we report on a recently collected large-sized tarsometatarsus from this formation that represents a new morphotype. We are convinced that the morphotype corresponds to a new species, but the material is too scarce for a taxonomic act. Undoubtedly, the bone discussed here is a valuable addition to our knowledge on diversity of early penguins.

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