Icadyptes is an extinct genus of Palaeeudyptinae from the Eocene tropics of South America.
Etymology
The genus name is a combination of "
Ica" for the
Ica Region where the
type species was found and "dyptes" from the Greek word for diver. The species
epithet "salasi" refers to Rodolfo Salas Gismondi, a noted Peruvian paleontologist.
Description
Comparing its
humerus length to previously estimated standing height of
Anthropornis () and
Palaeeudyptes (), standing height of
Icadyptes is estimated at .
However, according to original research including data of "standing height" of these two taxa that referred in description are actually showing body length (length between tip of beak and tip of tail, see
bird measurement), not standing height.
Body length and standing height of penguins are often confused even in scientific reports.
It had an exceptionally long spear-like beak resembling that of a heron. The researchers who discovered the penguins believe the long, pointed beaks to be the likely ancestral shape for all penguins.
Discovery
The fossilised remains of the penguin, which lived approximately 36 million years ago, were found in the
Otuma Formation,
[ Icadyptes at Fossilworks.org] in the coastal desert of
Peru by the team of North Carolina State University
palaeontologist Julia Clarke, assistant professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences. Its well-preserved
Fossil skeleton was found on the southern coast of Peru together with an early Eocene species
Perudyptes devriesi (comparable in size to the living
King penguin), and the remains of three other previously undescribed penguin species, all of which seem to have preferred the tropics over colder latitudes.
Evolution
Icadyptes salasi and
Perudyptes devriesi appear to have flourished at warmer latitudes at a time when world temperatures were at their warmest over the past 65 million years. Only a few modern-day penguins, such as the
African penguin and Galapagos penguins prefer such a balmy climate.
The discovery of the fossils has caused a re-evaluation of penguin evolution and expansion. Previously, scientists believed that penguins evolved near the poles in Antarctica and New Zealand, and moved closer to the equator around 10 million years ago. Since Icadyptes salasi lived in Peru during a period of great warmth, penguins must have adapted to warm climates around 30 million years earlier than previously believed.
