Re-evaluation of the fossil penguin Palaeeudyptes gunnari from the Eocene Leticia Formation, Argentina: additional material, systematics and palaeobiology

ACOSTA HOSPITALECHE CAROLINA; OLIVERO, EDUARDO B.

ALCHERINGA

TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2016

0311-5518

Eocene penguins are known mostly from Antarctic specimens. A previously documented partial skeleton consisting of a pelvis, femur, tibiotarsus and :fi.bula, from the middle Eocene Leticia Formation, Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, has been prepared and re-described. Re-analysis favours assignment to Palaeeudyptes gunnari, a species widely recorded in the Eocene of Antarctica. A new isolated coracoid belonging to an indetenninate species reveals new information about diving kinematics and swimming abilities. Palaeobiological attributes and morphology of the fossils indicate that both specimens belonged to large penguins with poor diving capability and wing propulsion systems similar to those of extant taxa. These penguin remains are the only vertebrate fossils thus far recorded from the Leticia Formation, and provide important insights into the relationships of South American and Antarctic penguins during the Paleogene. The presence of Palaeeudyptes in Argentina supports an Eocene connection between the South American and Antarctic penguin faunas.