Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Archaeospheniscus wimani

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Family
  
Spheniscidae

Scientific name
  
Archaeospheniscus wimani

Rank
  
Species

Class
  
Aves

Genus
  
Archaeospheniscus

Phylum
  
Chordata

Order
  
Sphenisciformes

Similar
  
Archaeospheniscus, Sphenisciformes, Palaeeudyptes, Palaeeudyptes klekowskii, Anthropornis

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

Archaeospheniscus wimani Wikipedia