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Review
Penguin past: The current state of knowledge
Piotr JADWISZCZAK
Instytut Biologii, Uniwersytet w Białymstoku, Świerkowa 20B, 15−950 Białystok, Poland
<piotrj@uwb.edu.pl>
Abstract: Penguins (Aves: Sphenisciformes) hold much interest for many people, includ−
ing (but not limited to) scientists. According to results of molecular studies, penguin his−
tory began in the Cretaceous, but the oldest bones assigned to these birds are Paleocene in
age. The first fossil representative of Sphenisciformes formally described was Palae−
eudyptes antarcticus, and this event took place 150 years ago. Since that time, several
dozens of species have been erected, though not all of them have stood a test of time. The
21st century entered new dynamics into the paleontology of penguins, and (importantly)
it concerned both the new material, and new theories. This paper summarizes what we
currently know about extinct penguins and indirectly suggests the most promising areas
for further research.
Key wo r d s : Southern Hemisphere, Aves, Sphenisciformes, evolution, fossil record.
Introduction
Penguins are highly specialized seabirds and simply intriguing creatures. They
seem to have no special fear of humans despite the exploitation on a massive scale
up to the beginning of the 20th century (del Hoyo et al. 1992). Obviously, some
groups of indigenous inhabitants of southern continents have known penguins for
millennia (e.g. Simeone and Navarro 2002). The first Europeans to see them, al−
most certainly the African Penguins, Spheniscus demersus (Linnaeus, 1758), and
leave notes on this event were members of the voyage of Vasco da Gama in
1497/98 (del Hoyo et al. 1992). The word “penguin”, however, started to be used
to name those birds much later. The most agreed−upon explanation is that it was
transferred from the now−extinct Great Auk Pinguinus impennis (Linnaeus, 1758),
a flightless bird from the northern Atlantic, which the extant penguins resemble
(Simpson 1976a).
Pol. Polar Res. 30 (1): 3–28, 2009
vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 3–28, 2009
Penguins are, and most probably always have been, confined to the Southern
Hemisphere1. They breed as far north as the Equator and as far south as Antarctica,
but only a few species of these birds are actually native to the Antarctic continent,
and only a single species is equatorial. At present, there are 16–192species of pen−
guins (the exact number still being debated), and they are divided into six clearly de−
fined genera (Davis and Renner 2003). Penguins form a sole family (Spheniscidae)
within the order Sphenisciformes3(formerly called Impennes), and the monophyly
of the Sphenisciformes appears to be beyond the question (Bertelli and Giannini
2005; Baker et al. 2006; Ksepka et al. 2006).
Penguins vary considerably in both body mass and standing height, ranging
from 1.1 kg/40 cm for the Little Penguin, Eudyptula minor (Forster, 1781) to
over 30 kg/115 cm for the Emperor Penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri Gray, 1844
(Williams 1995). Nevertheless, they share a very similar body form and struc−
ture. The most conspicuous penguin feature is flightlessness, although there is
consensus that penguins had flying ancestors. To be precise, sphenisciforms are
devoid of the ability of aerial flight while being the excellent wing−propelled di−
vers (they are capable of “underwater flight”). Thus the most obvious adapta−
tions of penguins are for underwater locomotion (wings as paddles, osteo−
sclerotic bone structure and much more). They feed on crustaceans (mainly
krill), fish and squids, and according to some authors, e.g. Davis and Renner
(2003), penguin diversity as well as most aspects of their biology can be ex−
plained by the distance they travel for food.
Although penguins are biologically fascinating and ecologically important,
the evolutionary processes that shaped them happened in the past. The first pen−
guin fossil, an incomplete tarsometatarsus (Fig. 1), was collected by an unnamed
Maori in the limestone of Kakanui (South Island, New Zealand) in about 1859, and
brought (still partly in matrix) to Mr. Walter Mantell. Mr. Mantell gave it to his
friend, Thomas Henry Huxley, who formally described the specimen erecting the
first species of fossil penguin, Palaeeudyptes antarcticus Huxley, 1859. This bone
is housed at the Natural History Museum in London (catalogue number A.1048).
Several dozens of fossil penguin species have been described since that time
(Ameghino 1905; Wiman 1905a, b; Marples 1952, 1953; Simpson 1971a, b,
1972a; Myrcha et al. 1990, 2002; and this is just a shortened list of “classic”
4Piotr Jadwiszczak
1A number of individuals out of those breeding on the equatorial Galapagos Islands constitute the
only exception to that “rule” (e.g. Davis and Renner 2003).
217 species according to del Hoyo et al. (1992) and Williams (1995), and this is the most widely
accepted version.
3Following the phylogenetic approach, the Linnean family name Spheniscidae was applied by
Clarke at al. (2003) to the clade comprised of the most recent common ancestor of all extant penguins
and all of its descendants. Moreover, they (Clarke et al. 2003) coined the name Pansphenisciformes to
label all taxa more closely related to present−day penguins than any other extant avian taxa, Sphe−
nisciformes being reserved for all parts of this lineage with a loss of flight homologous with that of
modern penguins.
works). Contributions reviewing fossil penguins and having a supraregional scope
are rare; those by Simpson (1946, 1975, 1976a), Brodkorb (1963) and Fordyce and
Jones (1990) have become the most influential ones.
The intent of this paper is to review fossil penguins according to the current
state of knowledge in the 150th anniversary of Huxley’s (1859) pioneering work.
Unlike the above−mentioned approaches, I decided to follow “the arrow of geo−
logic time” rather than present the local faunas of extinct sphenisciforms one after
another.
Origins of penguins
It has been obvious for some time that penguins arose from volant birds
(Bannasch 1986; Raikow et al. 1988). Nowadays, other proposals (e.g. Lowe
1933, 1939) are solely of historical interest. The earliest fossils assigned to
Sphenisciformes (discussed in the next section) provide a lower estimate of
61–62 Ma (Early Paleocene, i.e. close to the K/T boundary) for the divergence
between penguins and other Neornithes (Slack et al. 2006). Slack et al. (2006)
argue that the great disparity between penguins and their sister taxa suggests that
the process that gave rise to sphenisciforms was the Late Creataceous neorni−
Penguin past: The current state of knowledge 5
Fig. 1. The holotype tarsometatarsus of Palaeeudyptes antarcticus – dorsal (left) and plantar views.
The bone is ca 62 mm long. From Huxley 1859.
thine radiation. They (Slack et al. 2006) predicted this process began at 90–100
Ma (supported by mitochondrial DNA analyses using fossil calibrations). Esti−
mates of divergence time obtained by Baker et al. (2006) via molecular dating
(nuclear DNA, mitochondrial DNA and both sets combined) suggest that pen−
guins originated about 71 Ma (95% CI 62.4–77.3 Ma). All these results are in
line with Simpson’s (1975)4belief that “the time must have been in the Creta−
ceous”.
At present, it is not possible to locate one particular center for the origin of pen−
guins. The temptation to automatically point towards the region the oldest bones
come from can be misleading as the fossil record from the Paleocene epoch is
scarce (Fordyce and Jones 1990; Tambussi et al. 2005; Slack et al. 2006), and the
Paleocene and Eocene penguins are known from localities on opposite sides of
Antarctica (Simpson 1971a, b; Jenkins 1974, 1985; Myrcha et al. 2002; Clarke et
al. 2003, 2007; Tambussi et al. 2005, 2006; Jadwiszczak 2006a; Slack et al. 2006;
and references cited therein). At least two genera were circumpolar in their distri−
bution by the end of the Eocene epoch (Simpson 1971a, b; Jenkins 1985; Myrcha
et al. 1990, 2002; Jadwiszczak 2006a; Tambussi et al. 2006). Furthermore, three
Eocene species of penguins from the Antarctic Peninsula were placed by Ksepka et
al. (2006) near the base of the cladogram immediately above two species from the
Paleocene of New Zealand, Paleocene Antarctic fossils were not included in their
analysis (see also Jadwiszczak 2006b). One cannot also forget that southern conti−
nents were closer to each other during that time period.
The closest extant relatives of penguins appear to be among the Ciconiidae,
Fregatidae, Gaviiformes, Podicipediformes or Procellariiformes as suggested by
many independent analyses based on morphological, behavioral and molecular
data (taxa arranged in alphabetical order; Simpson 1946, 1975; Ho et al. 1976;
Marples 1962; Cracraft 1981, 1982, 1985, 1988; Olson 1985; O’Hara 1989;
Sibley and Ahlquist 1990; van Tuinen et al. 2001; Mayr and Clarke 2003; Baker
et al. 2006; Ksepka et al. 2006; Slack et al. 2006; Watanabe et al. 2006; Clarke et
al. 2007; Livezey and Zusi 2007; and others). Loons and tubenoses seem to be
the most frequently chosen outgrups in phylogenetic analyses of Sphenisci−
formes. Recently, Mayr (2005) proposed the Northern Hemisphere Plotopteridae
as a sister taxon of penguins. These flightless wing−propelled diving birds are
known from the Late Eocene–Early Miocene time period, and exhibit similar
wing morphology to penguins (Mayr 2005, and references cited therein). Fur−
thermore, they share some derived characters with “pelecaniform” Suloidea
(Sulidae, Phalacrocoracidae and Anhingidae). Hence it is not surprising that the
cladistic analysis by Mayr (2005) resulted in the clade Plotopteridae + Sphe−
niscidae being a sister taxon of the Suloidea.
6Piotr Jadwiszczak
4George Gaylord Simpson (1902–1984) was the most influential and prolific student of fossil pen−
guins.
The fossil record
Paleocene. — The oldest known penguin fossils come from the early Paleo−
gene of New Zealand (the Waipara Greensand, North Canterbury; Fordyce and
Jones 1990; Jones and Mannering 1997; Slack et al. 2006). Four associated
(though partial) skeletons represent two congeneric species, that cladistically be−
long in the stem−Sphenisciformes (Slack et al. 2006; see also Clarke et al. 2003).
These are Waimanu manneringi Jones, Ando et Fordyce, 2006 (holotype only) and
Waimanu tuatahi Ando, Jones et Fordyce, 2006 (or the Waipara bird of Fordyce
and Jones [1990]; Fig. 2), from the late Early Paleocene (60.5–61.6 Ma) and the
early Late Paleocene (58–60 Ma)5, respectively (Slack et al. 2006). They were rel−
Penguin past: The current state of knowledge 7
Fig. 2. Three individuals of Waimanu tuatahi on a New Zealand beach in Paleocene times. Recon−
struction © Geology Museum, University of Otago; artist Chris Gaskin. Used with permisson.
5Or just the Late Paleocene in the case of some specimens.
atively large penguins (ca 80–100 cm tall; Slack et al. 2006) with long narrow bills
(not an unusual feature in early penguins) as well as relatively long wings and
tarsometatarsi (as compared to geologically younger sphenisciforms), somewhat
loon−like in appearance (Fig. 2, Slack et al. 2006: fig. 1C). Fordyce and Jones
(1990) took note of other Paleocene remains, a fragment of coracoid, scapula and a
tiny fragment of the humeral head (C. Jones, personal communication, 2003),
which had belonged to another wing−propelled diver, possibly penguin. The
coracoid resembles that of Waimanu, but is larger. They were recovered from the
Moeraki Formation (north of Dunedin, New Zealand), and came from slightly
younger sediments than Waimanu (Fordyce and Jones 1990; C. Jones, personal
communication, 2003).
The third and last named species of Paleocene penguins reported so far is
Crossvallia unienwillia Tambussi, Reguero, Marenssi et Santillana, 2005. Unfor−
tunately, its record consists solely of three incomplete bones (humerus, femur and
tibiotarsus) recovered from the upper part of the Cross Valley Formation of Sey−
mour Island, Antarctic Peninsula (Late Paleocene, 55–56 Ma; Tambussi et al.
2005). Tambussi et al. (2005) estimated the “total size” of the bird to be between
127.5 and 142.5 cm (i.e. it had been clearly larger than the largest modern pen−
guins). It is important to mention that the climate in the northern Antarctic Penin−
sula was warm and wet during most of the Late Paleocene time period (e.g. Dingle
et al. 1998), so C. unienwillia inhabited a totally different environment in terms of
thermal (needless to say, not only thermal) conditions than their extant Antarctic
relatives. For the paleogeographic map showing localities of known Paleocene
penguins, see Fig. 3.
Eocene. — The fossil record of Eocene penguins is much more abundant com−
pared to that of the previous epoch. The earliest bones come from the two lower−
most units of the La Meseta Formation6of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula
(Myrcha et al. 2002; Jadwiszczak 2006b), and are Early Eocene in age (Marenssi
2006; see also Porębski 1995, 2000). Interestingly, some of them are very similar
to their counterparts assigned to large−bodied species so far known from the Mid−
dle and Late Eocene strata of the formation (Jadwiszczak 2006b).
The vast majority of Antarctic penguin fossils (thousands of specimens7) were
discovered within the upper part of the La Meseta Formation thus are Late Eocene
in age (Myrcha et al. 1990, 2002; Jadwiszczak 2006a). No articulated skeletons are
known (but see Tambussi et al. 2006: p.146), and almost all specimens are single
bones. Tarsometatarsi appear to be the most useful bones for taxonomic identifica−
8Piotr Jadwiszczak
6English “the” and Spanish “la” mean the same (they are definite articles), however, in the case of this
formation, they are used together so widely (also by me) that I decided not to change this form here.
7Collections of fossil penguins from the La Meseta Formation are scattered throughout the world
(e.g. Jadwiszczak 2006a), but the largest sets are housed at the Museo de La Plata (La Plata, Argen−
tina) and the Institute of Biology, University of Białystok (Białystok, Poland). They are probably also
the largest collections of extinct sphenisciforms ever.
Penguin past: The current state of knowledge 9
50 Ma
20 Ma
Present
breeding range
of extant penguins
?
Paleocene penguins
Eocene penguins
?maybe younger
Oligocene penguins
Miocene penguins
?
?maybe older
?maybe younger
?
?
?
Fig. 3. Distribution of present−day penguins and localities of known fossil penguins from the
Paleocene–Miocene time period. A single marker may represent more than one locality. The maps are
Mollewide projections created by R.C. Blakey (http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/mollglobe.html). Used
with permission.
tion of isolated remains of fossil penguins (e.g. Walsh et al. 2007), and most of the
named species from Seymour Island (and many other localities) are based on this
element (Wiman 1905a, b; Marples 1953; Simpson 1971a; Myrcha et al. 1990,
2002; Jadwiszczak 2006a). These are: Anthropornis grandis (Wiman, 1905),
A. nordenskjoeldi Wiman, 1905, Archaeospheniscus wimani (Marples, 1953),
Delphinornis arctowskii Myrcha, Jadwiszczak, Tambussi et al., 2002, D. gracilis
Myrcha, Jadwiszczak, Tambussi et al., 2002, D. larseni Wiman, 1905, Ichtyo−
pteryx gracilis Wiman, 1905, Marambiornis exilis Myrcha, Jadwiszczak, Tam−
bussi et al., 2002, Mesetaornis polaris Myrcha, Jadwiszczak, Tambussi et al.,
2002, Palaeeudyptes gunnari (Wiman, 1905) and P. klekowskii Myrcha, Tatur et
del Valle, 19908(Fig. 4). I. gracilis is based on such a fragmentary specimen that
was described by Simpson (1971a) as being “essentially indeterminate at present”
(see also Myrcha et al. 2002 and Jadwiszczak 2006a). Recently, I reviewed several
hundred bones other than tarsometatarsi suggesting ten species (without I. gra−
cilis) sorted into six genera as a minimum reliable estimate of the Eocene Antarctic
penguin diversity (Jadwiszczak 2006a). On the other hand, Millener (1988) sug−
gested the existence of up to seven genera and some fourteen species of penguins
from Seymour Island. Last year, I described an intriguing (though incomplete)
tarsometatarsus of a small penguin that, in my opinion, represented an undescribed
genus and species of Sphenisciformes (Jadwiszczak 2008). However, because of
the fragmentary nature of the material, I did not decide to erect a new taxon. This
finding and suggestions expressed in Myrcha et al. 2002 and Jadwiszczak 2006a
are decidely in line with Millener’s (1988) conviction.
Unfortunately, not only tarsometatarsi were used as holotypes of fossil spe−
cies from the La Meseta Formation. The oldest such a case is more than a hun−
dred years old (Wiman 1905a, b). Orthopteryx gigas Wiman, 1905 had been
based exclusively on a large partial synsacrum and Simpson (1971a) described
this taxon as “essentially indeterminate”. I agree with him, most probably the
bone belonged to A. nordenskjoeldi. Another work that introduced taxon based
solely on the non−metatarsal features is that of Simpson (1971a). Wimanornis
seymourensis Simpson, 1971, the species of large−bodied penguins, is repre−
sented by two humeri, and (in my opinion) is most likely not a distinct taxon
(Jadwiszczak 2006a). Recently, Tambussi et al. (2006) erected two new species
(and a new genus) of penguins, Tonniornis mesetaensis Tambussi, Acosta
Hospitaleche, Reguero et Marenssi, 2006 and T. minimum Tambussi, Acosta
Hospitaleche, Reguero et Marenssi, 2006, based on humeri. I (Jadwiszczak
2006b) criticized their (Tambussi et al. 2006) decission not only because of the
choice of skeletal elements (humeri are generally characteristic bones, however,
their assignment to small−bodied species is problematic, see Jadwiszczak 2006a),
10 Piotr Jadwiszczak
8Palaeeudyptes (genus known also from other regions and epochs) was paraphyletic in results from
Ksepka et al. 2006 and Clarke et al. 2007.
but also formal inaccuracies. Moreover, they (Tambussi et al. 2006) assigned a
number of bones to two species so far known exclusively from the Oligocene of
New Zealand. Again, I had to raise my objections (Jadwiszczak 2006b). To my
mind, there is too weak a basis for considering the Oligocene New Zealand taxa
part of the Eocene Seymour Island assemblage (for details see Jadwiszczak
2006b).
Individuals from six species belonging to four genera most probably were not
larger than Emperor Penguins, the heaviest and tallest modern sphenisciforms
(Jadwiszczak 2001). Interestingly, most of them (D. arctowskii,D. gracilis,
M. exilis,M. polaris and the enigmatic tarsometatarsus mentioned earlier) are
known solely from the youngest unit of the La Meseta Formation, i.e. Telm7
(Myrcha et al. 2002; Jadwiszczak 2006a). Another group consists of the so−called
giant penguins (this term was criticized by Simpson [1976a]), at least some of
them had long and dagger−like bills (Olson 1985; Myrcha et al. 2002; Jadwiszczak
2003; see also Jadwiszczak 2006a: p. 40 and fig 18a; Jadwiszczak 2006b: p. 194
and fig. 4a). Its largest representatives, birds assigned to A. nordenskjoeldi, could
weigh more than 80 kg, their body lengths exceeded (considerably in some cases)
165 cm (Jadwiszczak 2001; see also Livezey 1989).
Penguin past: The current state of knowledge 11
Fig. 4. A 1.6 m long Palaeeudyptes klekowskii hunting a fish (the Late Eocene of Antarctic Penin−
sula). Artist Dorota Cyranowska. This reproduction was originally prepared for the National Geo−
graphic Polska (NG Polska 8, 2007). Used with permission.
Most, if not all, of the La Meseta penguins may have co−existed in the West
Antarctic during the Late Eocene epoch, just prior to the final break−up of Gond−
wana and the rapid expansion of continental ice sheets near the Eocene/Oligocene
boundary (Simpson 1975; Case 1996; Jadwiszczak 2006a; Tambussi et al. 2006;
and references cited therein). I proposed the adaptive radiation under periodically
unfavourable trophic conditions as an explanation for the abundance of the Eocene
Antarctic penguins (Jadwiszczak 2003). According to Myrcha et al. (2002), a
number of factors, including environmental (abiotic components) and ecosystem
changes, were responsible for the accelerated evolution of penguins during the
Eocene. In fact, through the considerable part of this epoch the Antarctic Peninsula
followed the global trend of climate deterioration (documented to be somewhat
step−like with several reversals in the Antarctic) and accompanying evolution of
biota (Gaździcki et al. 1992; Dingle et al. 1998; Zachos et al. 2001; Myrcha et al.
2002; Birkenmajer et al. 2005; Francis et al. 2008). The change was really radical:
from a warm greenhouse world (the Late Paleocene/Early Eocene thermal maxi−
mum, “PETM”) to the glacial Antarctic icehouse (Gaździcki et al. 1992; Dingle et
al. 1998; Birkenmajer et al. 2005; Francis et al. 2008).
According to Baker et al. (2006; multiple gene evidence) the common ances−
try of extant penguins dates back to ca 40 Ma, i.e. the Eocene epoch, when
Aptenodytes diverged as the basal lineage. What is more important here is that
they (Baker et al. 2006) additionally suggested an Antarctic origin of extant taxa.
By contrast, there is no fossil evidence for the extant penguin radiation in the
Eocene (Myrcha et al. 2002; Jadwiszczak 2006a; Clarke et al. 2007), and the old−
est bones assigned to an extant genus are from the Miocene epoch, from outside
the Antarctic (e.g. Göhlich 2007).
The fossil record of Eocene penguins is not restricted to the Antarctic, how−
ever. Traveling northwards, we can encounter several South American localities.
The first American fossil penguin from that epoch comes from the Leticia Forma−
tion at Punta Torcida, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina (Clarke et al. 2003). It is repre−
sented by parts of an associated pelvic girdle and limb (nearly complete tibio−
tarsus, fibula and two incomplete femora). This relatively large sphenisciform
(slightly smaller than the Emperor Penguin) is late Middle Eocene in age (Clarke
et al. 2003). One cannot exclude the possibility that in future the Punta Torcida
bird will be assigned to a taxon known from the La Meseta Formation. Moreover,
there are two other Argentine fossil penguins, Arthrodytes andrewsi (Amegino,
1901) and Paraptenodytes robustus (Ameghino, 1885)9that may be Late Eocene
in age. Their remains (humerus, coracoid and scapula, and tarsometatarsi, humeri
and femora, respectively) are known from the San Julián Formation (Late Eocene–
12 Piotr Jadwiszczak
9A number of bones assigned to this species have been also reported from the Bahía Inglesa Forma−
tion (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene, Chile; Acosta Hospitaleche et al. 2002). In my opinion, this as−
signment should be verified.
Early Oligocene; Acosta Hospitaleche 2005; Acosta Hospitaleche and Tambussi
2008).
Recently, two Eocene penguins have been discovered in Peru (Clarke et al.
2007). One new species, Perudyptes devriesi Clarke, Ksepka, Stucchi et al.,
2007, is based on several elements including head bones, humeri and the incom−
plete tarsometatarsus, and was approximately the size of the King Penguin
(Aptenodytes patagonicus Miller, 1778). It comes from the basal Paracas Forma−
tion, Department of Ica (Middle Eocene). Another new species, Icadyptes salasi
Clarke, Ksepka, Stucchi et al., 2007 from the Late Eocene strata of the Otuma
Formation (Department of Ica), was a real giant (above 1.5 m standing height) as
indicated by its partially preserved skeleton (e.g. hind limbs are missing; Clarke
et al. 2007; Ksepka et al. 2008). Both species from Peru had straight, elongate
bills. According to Clarke et al. (2007), two equatorial ingressions by Paleogene
penguins are supported: dispersal from the Antarctic (by the Middle Eocene) and
a second from New Zealand (by the Late Eocene). Moreover, unlike Tambussi et
al. (2005), they (Clarke et al. 2007) suggest a single origin of extremely large
size in the penguin lineage. Additional material indicates the presence of undes−
cribed penguin taxa in the Otuma Formation (Acosta Hospitaleche and Stucchi
2005; Clarke et al. 2007).
The oldest post−Paleocene and formally described penguins from New Zea−
land are of Late Eocene age (Marples 1952; Simpson 1975; Fordyce and Jones
1990; Cooper 2004). These are Pachydyptes ponderosus Oliver, 1930 (Runangan;
Oamaru, South Island) and Palaeeudyptes marplesi Brodkorb, 1963 (Kaiatan or
Runangan; Burnside, South Island). Both were “giant” penguins10, the former be−
ing larger, similar in size to Anthropornis (Simpson 1975; Jenkins 1985; Livezey
1989). Additional fossils were described as Palaeeudyptes sp. indet. (not mar−
plesi) or just Palaeeudyptes sp. (Simpson 1971b, 1975; see note in the “Eocene”
section regarding doubtful monophyly of this genus).
The Late Eocene penguin bones come also from southern Australia. They were
assigned to Palaeeudyptes sp. (specimens from Christies’ Beach, near Adelaide;
Simpson 1975, and references cited therein) and Anthropornis nordenskjoeldi
(several bones including a characteristic partial coracoid and fragments of humeri
from the Blanche Point Marls near Adelaide; Jenkins 1974, 1985). Although the
tarsometatarsi of the supposed Australian representatives of the latter species are
missing, I am ready to admit that most likely birds from these genera (but see note
in the “Eocene” section regarding doubtful monophyly of Palaeeudyptes) had cir−
cumpolar distribution during the Eocene epoch. For the paleogeographic map
showing localities of known Eocene penguins, see Fig. 3.
Oligocene. — Sphenisciform remains from this epoch were collected in New
Zealand and Australia. South American fossils may be represented by two species
Penguin past: The current state of knowledge 13
10 Based on partial skeletons, tarsometatarsal features known only for P. marplesi.
from the San Julián Formation mentioned in the previous section. Although some
authors (Fordyce and Jones 1990; Clarke et al. 2003; and references cited therein)
do not preclude a Late Oligocene age for some other penguin−bearing strata from
Argentina, Acosta Hospitaleche and Tambussi (2008) in their recent work use
solely Early Miocene age for them.
The fossil record from New Zealand is relatively dense (Simpson 1971b;
Fordyce and Jones 1990; Ando 2004). The most famous Oligocene penguin is
surely Palaeeudyptes antarcticus Huxley, 1859, a large bird known from an in−
complete tarsometatarsus (found near Oamaru, South Island, probably Early
Oligocene in age; see Simpson 1971b and note in the “Eocene” section regarding
doubtful monophyly of this genus). There are also other remains assigned to the
genus Palaeeudyptes, but their relationships with P. antarcticus are uncertain
(Simpson 1971b).
Another taxon from this epoch is Archaeospheniscus represented by two spe−
cies of large penguins (larger than A. wimani from the Eocene of the Antarctic): A.
lowei Marples, 1952 and A. lopdelli Marples, 1952. Both are based on partial skel−
etons (tarsometatarsi are known only for the latter species) recovered from the
Kokoamu Greensand at Duntroon (South Island) and they are Late Oligocene
(Duntroonian) in age. Recently, another partial skeleton from the Kokoamu
Greensand was referred to this genus; preliminary identification had been made on
the humerus (Riedel 2006). According to Riedel (2006) this specimen may be a
new species. Another interesting fossil, an incomplete skeleton of a large sphe−
nisciform from the Late Oligocene (Kokoamu Greensand, near the Waihao River),
has morphology similar to that of Oligocene Palaeeudyptes, and its bill is elongate
like in the Eocene “giant” forms (Fordyce and Jones 1990; see also Olson 1985;
Myrcha et al. 1990; Jadwiszczak 2003). Although some bones are missing, the
Waihao bird is one of the best preserved fossil penguins discovered so far (Fordyce
and Jones 1990: fig. 18.6; Williams 1995: fig. 2.2).
Ando (2004) noted that among New Zealand fossil penguins, two forms from
the latest Oligocene/earliest Miocene of South Canterbury (South Island), i.e. the
Hakataramea bird11 (a tiny sphenisciform; Fordyce and Jones 1990) and Platydyptes
Marples, 195212 (middle− to large−bodied penguins; Marples 1952; Simpson 1971b;
Fordyce and Jones 1990), contrast considerably with more “archaic” forms such as
those belonging to Palaeeudyptes. They appear to represent important stages in the
modernization of the penguin wing, and the former bird is hypothesized to be an
ecological equivalent of the present−day Little Penguin (Ando 2004). The Haka−
taramea bird is not the only small−bodied penguin from New Zealand of about Late
Oligocene age. Duntroonornis parvus Marples, 1952 and Korora oliveri Marples,
14 Piotr Jadwiszczak
11 Thought by Cozzuol et al. (1991) to be conspecific with Eretiscus tonni (Simpson, 1981) from
Patagonia (but see Acosta Hospitaleche et al. 2004).
12 P. novaezealandiae (Oliver, 1930), Platydyptes amiesi Marples, 1952 and ?Platydyptes marplesi
Simpson, 1971 (Simpson 1971b, 1975).
1952 from the Waitaki Valley region (South Island), both based on the tarsometa−
tarsus, show (as do some La Meseta penguins) that not all Paleogene Sphensici−
formes were “giants”. Furthermore, Grant Mackie and Simpson (1973) and Fordyce
and Jones (1990) reported other remains of Oligocene penguins, possibly represent−
ing new taxa.
In 2006, the children of the Hamilton Junior Naturalist Club discovered a par−
tial fossil penguin skeleton near Kawhia, on the west coast of the North Island of
New Zealand (see http://www.waikatomuseum.co.nz/page/pageid/2145833246).
The Kawhia penguin, a large−sized sphenisciform, is thought to be either 40 mil−
lion years old (i.e. Eocene in age; information after the online version of The New
Zealand Herald, article by M. Erwin dated 19 February 2006), or (more likely)
10–15 millions years younger (i.e. Oligocene in age; according to N. Harcourt, cu−
rator of science at the Waikato Museum – an estimate based on the established age
of rocks in the Te Kuiti Group which are widespread in the Kawhia area; see the
web page cited above). The formal description of these remains is not available,
however.
The Oligocene record of Australian fossil penguins is rather poor. Glaessner
(1955) and Simpson (1957, 1975) reported two bones (humerus and femur) repre−
senting distinct but unidentified species from the Late Oligocene or Early Miocene
of South Australia (Gambier limestone, near Mt Gambier)13. One of them could be
larger than the Emperor Penguin; the second form was slightly below the mean
size of the King Penguin (Simpson 1957). For the paleogeographic map showing
localities of known Oligocene penguins, see Fig. 3.
Miocene. — The fossil record of South American penguins from this epoch is
abundant (Simpson 1972a; Acosta Hospitaleche and Tambussi 2008; and refer−
ences cited therein). Moreover, the oldest remains assigned to any extant penguin
genus are of Miocene age (Göhlich 2007). Simpson (1972a), the author of the
most−cited twentieth−century review of South American sphenisciforms, knew
only the bones from Patagonia. Interestingly, his latest work on fossil penguins
(Simpson 1981) was devoted to Eretiscus tonni (Simpson, 1981), a small penguin
from that region and epoch14. However, many other bones have been found as well
Penguin past: The current state of knowledge 15
13 Last year, I had an opportunity to visit the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm,
home of the oldest collection of fossil penguins from the La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Ant−
arctic Peninsula (e.g. Wiman 1905a, b). The museum has also a set of casts of Australian specimens
from the Eocene and Oligocene epochs; however, of particular interest are labels that accompany
these specimens. The Eocene humerus (see Simpson 1957) was described as the “holotype of
Pteronectes finlaysoni n. gen. et n. sp. Jenkins”, and the Eocene tibiotarsus (Simpson 1957) as “cf.
Antropornis grandis”. The age of the bones mentioned in this paragraph was reported as the Late
Early Oligocene (probably also by Jenkins), and the humerus was described as “humerus in paratype
series of Pteronectes hectori n. gen. et n. sp. Jenkins”. Interestingly, after running a query against sev−
eral scientific databases available online (the Index to Organism Names or ION, Paleobiology Data−
base and Google Scholar), the output field was blank.
14 According to Simpson (1981), it was the smallest known penguin either fossil or extant.
as numerous papers have been published since that time. The latest revision of
South American fossil penguins is that by Acosta Hospitaleche and Tambussi
(2008; Table 1). The Miocene species from extinct genera include (a “systematic
proposal”15; Acosta Hospitaleche and Tambussi 2008, and references cited therein):
Eretiscus tonni (Simpson,1981) (Gaiman Formation, Argentina; Early Miocene),
Palaeospheniscus bergi Moreno et Mercerat, 1891 (Gaiman Formation, Argen−
tina; Early Miocene), Palaeospheniscus biloculata (Simpson, 1970) (Gaiman For−
mation, Argentina; Early Miocene), Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Moreno et
Mercerat, 1891 (Gaiman Formation, Argentina; Early Miocene), Paraptenodytes
antarcticus (Moreno et Mercerat, 1891)16 (Monte León Formation, Argentina,
Early Miocene and Puerto Madryn Formation, Argentina, early Late Miocene) and
Madrynornis mirandus Acosta Hospitaleche et al., 2007 (Puerto Madryn Forma−
tion, Argentina; early Late Miocene). According to the compilation by Acosta
Hospitaleche and Tambussi (2008; see also Göhlich 2007), the remains of P.
biloculata,P. antarcticus and (mentioned in the “Eocene” section) P. robustus
come also from the Late Miocene–Early Pliocene Bahía Inglesa Formation, Chile
(but see Chávez 2007 and Acosta Hospitaleche and Canto 2007). Holotypes are al−
most exclusively single bones (mainly tarsometatarsi), although M. mirandus is
based on a nearly complete and articulated skeleton (Acosta Hospitaleche et al.
2007).
Extant genera are represented by Spheniscus muizoni Göhlich, 2007 (Pisco
Formation, Peru; latest Middle or earliest Late Miocene), the only representative
16 Piotr Jadwiszczak
Table 1
Changes introduced recently into the list of Patagonian fossil penguins.
Species after Simpson (1972a, 1981)
and Olson (1986)
Species after
Acosta Hospitaleche and Tambussi (2008)
Palaeospheniscus gracilis synonym of P. bergi
Palaeospheniscus bergi Palaeospheniscus bergi
Palaeospheniscus patagonicus Palaeospheniscus patagonicus
Palaeospheniscus wimani synonym of P. biloculata
Chubutodyptes biloculata Palaeospheniscus biloculata
Paraptenodytes antarcticus Paraptenodytes antarcticus
Paraptenodytes robustus Paraptenodytes robustus
Paraptenodytes brodkorbi synonym of P. robustus
Arthrodytes grandis synonym of P. robustus
A. andrewsi as a synonym of A. grandis Arthrodytes andrewsi
Eretiscus tonni Eretiscus tonni
Madrynornis mirandus
15 Some of its aspects appear to be controversial, however.
16 See also Bertelli et al. 2006.
of this group that is entirely Miocene in age, Spheniscus megaramphus Stucchi,
Urbina et Giraldo, 2003 (Pisco Formation, Peru; Late Miocene–Early Pliocene),
Spheniscus urbinai Stucchi, 2002 (Pisco Formation, Peru; Late Miocene and Early
Pliocene), Pygoscelis calderensis Acosta Hospitaleche, Chávez et Fritis, 2006
(Bahía Inglesa Formation, Chile; Middle Miocene–Middle Pliocene) and Pygo−
scelis grandis Walsh et Suárez, 2006 (Bahía Inglesa Formation, Chile; Late Mio−
cene–?Early Pliocene17) (Stucchi 2002; Stucchi et al. 2003; Acosta Hospitaleche
et al. 2006; Walsh and Suárez 2006; Göhlich 2007). Additionally, Walsh and
Hume (2001) described some remains from the Bahía Inglesa Formation (Middle
Miocene–Early Pliocene) as cf. Spheniscus.
The holotype of S. muizoni is partial postcranial skeleton (humeri and one
tarsometatarsus among others), and suggests the bird was about the size of the Af−
rican and Magellanic Penguins Spheniscus magellanicus (Forster, 1781). Its re−
mains are most similar to those of S. urbinai (Göhlich 2007), though the latter was
more impressive in terms of size (25% larger than modern representatives of
Spheniscus; Stucchi 2002). S. megaramphus was slightly larger than S. urbinai
(Stucchi et al. 2003); however, whereas the former is represented solely by cranial
material, the latter is based on an almost complete skeleton18.P. calderensis is an−
other penguin based exclusively on cranial material (three skulls). It was compara−
ble in terms of body size to its present−day congenerics (Acosta Hospitaleche et al.
2006).
Fossil penguins from the Early Miocene of New Zealand may be represented
by at least two forms from South Canterbury listed in the previous section –
Platydyptes and the Hakataramea bird. Some other penguins listed there (Archaeo−
spheniscus,Duntroonornis and Korora) also cannot be excluded. Moreover, sup−
posed Pliocene species from North Canterbury (see next section) may be in fact
Miocene in age (Fordyce and Jones 1990).
All known Australian species that are probably of Miocene age come from Vic−
toria. These are: Anthropodyptes gilli Simpson, 1959, Pseudaptenodytes macraei
Simpson, 1970 and ?Pseudaptenodytes minor Simpson, 1970 (Gill 1959, Simpson
1959, 1965, 1970, 1975), and their holotypes are humeri (Simpson 1959, 1965,
1970). The last two species may be Pliocene in age (Fordyce and Jones 1990).
A. gilli was a large penguin (Simpson 1959), heavier than the extant Emperor Pen−
guin (Livezey 1989) whereas P. macraei was close to the King Penguin in size
(Simpson 1970). Also some penguin fossils from the Western Cape Province of
South Africa (see next section) may be as old as Late Miocene (Rich 1980; Fordyce
and Jones 1990; Matthews et al. 2007; but see Brooke 1993). For the paleo−
geographic map showing localities of known Miocene penguins, see Fig. 3.
Penguin past: The current state of knowledge 17
17 Walsh and Suárez (2006) stated that P. grandis came from an ?Early Pliocene level of the forma−
tion, though the referred material (unlike the holotype and topotype) was Late Miocene in age.
18 The holotype is Early Pliocene in age, some paratypes are older (Stucchi 2002).
Pliocene. — In South America, the record of fossil penguins from the Pliocene
epoch consists of at least three species. Spheniscus chilensis Emslie et Guerra Cor−
rea, 2003 comes from the Caleta Herradura de Mejillones Formation (Late Plio−
cene), Chile. Its holotype is a complete humerus (paratypes are numerous) similar
in size to that of the Magellanic Penguin (Emslie and Guerra Correa 2003). An−
other species, Spheniscus urbinai is known from the Late Miocene (see previous
section), but its holotype (a nearly complete skeleton) and some referred speci−
mens come from the Early Pliocene of the Pisco Formation, Peru (Stucchi 2002).
Pygoscelis grandis, like S. urbinai, spans two epochs (see previous section). Its
holotype is a partial associated skeleton suggesting the body size around that of the
King Penguin (Walsh and Suárez 2006).
The Pliocene penguin fauna from New Zealand is represented by up to five
species. Fossil remains of Tereingaornis moisleyi Scarlett, 1983 are known from
North Island, the type locality being at Te Reinga (near Wairoa, Northern
Hawke’s Bay; Scarlett 1983; McKee 1987). This was a rather small penguin, as
indicated by type humeri (tarsometatarsi are not known), possibly referable to
the genus Spheniscus (Scarlett 1983). Fragmentary bones representing a second
species of penguin, somewhat larger than T. moisleyi, were reported19.Other
New Zealand penguins come from South Island. Marplesornis novaezealandiae
(Marples, 1960) is based on an associated and articulated partial skeleton found
near the mouth of the Motunau River (Marples 1960; Simpson 1972b). It was of
medium size in comparison with modern penguins (Simpson 1972b; Livezey
1989). Penguins assigned to present−day genera (according to Ksepka et al. 2006
this cannot be reliably resolved at present), Pygoscelis tyreei Simpson, 1972 and
Aptenodytes ridgeni Simpson, 1972, come from localities close to that of M.
novaezealandiae. The first of them is similar in size and structure to the Gentoo
Penguin, Pygoscelis papua (Forster, 1781), the second species resembles the
Emperor Penguin but is slightly larger (Simpson 1972b; Livezey 1989). Both are
represented by type specimens only (partial skeletons; Simpson 1972b). How−
ever, assignments of last three species to the Pliocene epoch are uncertain, and
they may be Miocene, Pliocene or Pleistocene in age (McKee 1987; Fordyce and
Jones 1990). Moreover, one or two Australian species may be as young as Plio−
cene (see previous section).
Simpson (1971c, 1973, 1976b, 1979a, b) described four species and genera
from South Africa (south−western Cape Province, currently the Western Cape
Province) considered being Pliocene in age. Olson (1983) suggested that they
probably belong to a single genus, either Spheniscus or a taxon closely related to it.
The last assignments known to me are those by Clancey et al. (1987; see also
Brooke 1993) and they are as follows: Spheniscus predemersus Simpson, 1971
(Spheniscus in Simpson 1971c, Inguza in Simpson 1976b), Spheniscus hux−
18 Piotr Jadwiszczak
19 Society of Avian Paleontology and Evolution Information Letter 10 (1996).
leyorum (Simpson, 1973) (?Palaeospheniscus in Simpson 1973), Spheniscus
hendeyi (Simpson, 1979) (Dege in Simpson 1979a) and Spheniscus insolitus
(Simpson, 1979) (Nucleornis in Simpson 1979b). The type specimens of African
species are single bones, either humeri or tarsometatarsi (Brooke 1993). Further−
more, some Late Pliocene vertebrate fossils from Cockburn Island (Antarctic Pen−
insula) may represent penguin bones (Jonkers 1998).
Pleistocene and Holocene. — The record of Pleistocene penguins comes
from at least three regions. Late Pleistocene (pre−Glacial Maximum) remains from
New Zealand are known e.g. from Cape Wanbrow (South Island), including an un−
described species of Eudyptes (Grant−Mackie and Scarlett 1973; but see Worthy
and Grant−Mackie 2003: p. 446) as well as the Little Penguin, the Fiordland Pen−
guin Eudyptes pachyrhynchus Gray, 1845 and the Yellow−eyed Penguin Mega−
dyptes antipodes (Hombron et Jacquinot, 1841) (extant taxa; Worthy and Grant−
Mackie 2003, and references cited therein). Interestingly, this site yielded the only
fossil penguin eggs from outside Antarctica (attributed to the Little Penguin; Wor−
thy and Grant−Mackie 2003; see also Emslie and Patterson 2007).
During the Late Pleistocene, Antarctica witnessed the repeated expansion and
collapse of huge marine−based ice shelves as well as fluctuations in continental ice
sheets. It seems likely that such conditions were not too limiting for the extant Em−
peror Penguin owing to its adaptation to the extreme cold and surrounding ice
(even during their breeding season). Present−day Antarctic penguin species that
nest in the ice−free zones close to the unfrozen sea, such as the Adélie Penguin,
Pygoscelis adeliae (Hombron et Jacquinot, 1841), were obviously present in the
region, but they were separated into refugia (Ritchie et al. 2004). Thus, although
some bones assigned to extant species (from the genus Pygoscelis) are more than
40 thousand years old (Late Pleistocene; Emslie et al. 2007), it is not surprising
that the majority of subfossil bones found so far are Holocene in age (Baroni and
Orombelli 1994; Tatur et al. 1997; Ritchie et al. 2004; Emslie and Woehler 2005;
Shepherd et al. 2005).
Pleistocene penguin bones from South Africa come from several sites, e.g. the
Hoedjiespunt Peninsula (Saldanha Bay, Western Cape Province) and Boegoeberg
(Northern Cape Province). They were assigned to the extant African Penguin, and
were probably Late Pleistocene in age (Klein et al. 1999; Stynder et al. 2001).
At least three Holocene penguin extinctions have been reported so far. The first
of the supposed lost species is Tasidyptes hunteri Van Tets et O’Connor, 1983 re−
covered from a 13th century midden on Hunter Island, Tasmania; a bird about the
size of the Rockhopper Penguin, Eudyptes chrysocome (Forster, 1781) (Van Tets
and O’Connor 1983; see also Harrison 1984). Fordyce and Jones (1990) called the
material “debatably diagnostic”. Another extinction event is thought to have oc−
curred as recently as 500 years ago in southern New Zealand (Boessenkool et al.
2009). Genetic and morphological analyses revealed previously unrecognized sister
species of the Yellow−Eyed Penguin (Megadyptes antipodes), namely Megadyptes
Penguin past: The current state of knowledge 19
waitaha Boessenkool et al., 2009. Interestingly, Boessenkool et al. (2009) explained
this event in terms of human predation and proposed it as a factor that had triggered
the range expansion of M. antipodes. The Chatham Islands Penguin (most probably
from the genus Eudyptes), the most recent of the supposed lost species, may have
come extinct in the late 19th century as a bird kept captive at some time between
1867 and 1872 might refer to this taxon (Tennyson and Millener 1994).
Remarks on the origin and evolution of extant penguins
There are currently two competing scenarios explaining the origin and evolution
of extant penguins. One of them, proposed by Baker et al. (2006), locates the com−
mon ancestry of modern Sphenisciformes (i.e. Spheniscidae sensu Clarke et al.
2003) in the Eocene of Antarctic. The suggested order and timing of divergence was
as follows: Aptenodytes (Eocene), Pygoscelis (Eocene or Oligocene), the split be−
tween Spheniscus–Eudyptula and Eudyptes–Megadyptes (Oligocene). The split be−
tween Spheniscus and Eudyptula took place in the Oligocene or Miocene, and
Megadyptes diverged from Eudyptes in the Miocene. Aptenodytes and Pygoscelis
speciated in the Miocene, the latter maybe also in the Oligocene. Speciation events
within Eudyptes took place within about the last eight million years and those within
Spheniscus were even more recent. According to Baker et al. (2006), the observed
diversity of penguin species is due to the northwards dispersal (caused by the major
cooling events) and inevitable isolation that promoted allopatric speciation.
Ksepka et al. (2006, see also Clarke et al. 2007) disagree with this view. In
their opinion, cooling provided speciation opportunities to colonize an extreme
environment, and this probably happened recently. Clarke et al. (2007) suggested
the Miocene epoch for the common ancestry of the present−day genera. Unlike
Baker et al. (2006), they (Ksepka et al. 2006) emphasize the importance of
Subantarctic regions for penguin evolution, and locate the common ancestry of all
the extant genera in the Antarctic Peninsula, the Scotia Arc and New Zealand.
Apart from biogeography and timing, the proposed (Ksepka et al. 2006; Clarke et
al. 2007) pattern of divergence events within Spheniscidae (sensu Clarke et al.
2003) is like that in Baker et al. 2006 (Fig. 5).
Concluding remarks
Penguins are quite well represented in the fossil record of birds. Such a situa−
tion is partly due to a huge boost the paleontology of sphenisciforms got in the
21st century. This and a number of new molecular studies conducted on extant
penguins enabled comprehensive phylogenetic analyses, but also raised new
questions (e.g. doubtful monophyly of Palaeeudyptes; see Fig. 5). Definitely,
20 Piotr Jadwiszczak
new fossils are still needed, particularly from the Late Cretaceous–Early Eocene
and Miocene time periods, i.e. intervals most probably crucial for the evolution
of Sphenisciformes. Additionally, the lack of precise dating of some important
specimens, resulted from complex geology of some regions, makes the verifica−
tion of important hypotheses impossible. Also spatially, the fossil record of pen−
guins is far from being perfect. For example, it would be very interesting to study
Paleogene Antarctic penguins from outside the James Ross Basin. Nevertheless,
even the quick look at the list of the most recent references assures that the pale−
ontology of Sphenisciformes is in its “golden epoch”.
Penguin past: The current state of knowledge 21
Aptenodytes
Pygoscelis
Eudyptula
Spheniscus
Megadyptes
Eudyptes
Marplesornis
Palaeospheniscus
Eretiscus
Platydyptese
Platydyptesd
Paraptenodytes
Archaeospheniscus
Palaeeudyptesc
Icadyptes
Pachydyptes
Palaeeudyptesb
Palaeeudyptesa
Anthropornis
Perudyptes
Marambiornis
Mesetaornis
Delphinornis
Waimanu
Procellariiformes
Fig. 5. Synthesis of penguin evolution (generic level). Based on data from Clarke et al. 2007.
aPalaeeudyptes klekowskii and P. gunnari (Antarctic species); bPalaeeudyptes sp. (OM C.48:73−81;
specimen from Burnside, Dunedin, New Zealand); cPalaeeudyptes sp. (OM C.47:25 and C.47:23;
specimens from Duntroon, New Zealand); dPlatydyptes amiesi;ePlatydyptes marplesi and P.
novaezealandiae. A dotted rectangle surrounds extant genera.
Acknowledgements. — I would like to sincerely thank R.E. Fordyce (New Zealand) and
D. Cyranowska (Poland) for permission to reproduce the graphical reconstructions of Paleo−
gene penguins. I am also thankful to R.C. Blakey (U.S.A.) for permission to use his Mollewide
plate tectonic maps. The quality of this paper was improved by the constructive criticism of
two reviewers, S.D. Emslie and D.T. Ksepka (U.S.A.). And last but not least, I wish to
acknowledge A. Gaździcki (Poland) for his support. This paper benefited from research
performed at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm (Sweden) and the financial
support through SYNTHESYS funding made available by the European Community –
Research Infrastructure Action under the FP6 “Structuring the European Research Area”
Programme; project SE−TAF−4399.
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Received 11 February 2009
Accepted 2 March 2009
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