The Penguins that Outlived the Dinosaurs

Scientists found the fossils of a previously unknown genus of ancient penguins that had lived in the shallow seas off eastern New Zealand, between 58 and 62 million years ago. The penguins were named Waimanu, from the Maori words wai (water) and manu (bird). The Waimanu penguins were around 70 centimeters tall and resemble modern penguins in many ways.

The main importance of these fossils is that they contradict the "Big Bang" theory of bird evolution, stating that birds have suddenly evolved after the dinosaurs left the stage 65 million years ago. Professor Ewan Fordyce from Otago University in New Zeeland, who analyzed the fossils, said: "As these early penguins lived in southern seas, not long after the extinction of dinosaurs, then other, more distantly related bird groups must have been established even earlier."

Researchers can use the fossils to attach dates to the avian family tree, reconstructed from the DNA information. Study co-author David Penny, from Massey University in Palmerston North, who analyzed avian DNA sequences, said: "From the (DNA) sequences we can build (an evolutionary) tree fairly easily. But that doesn't tell you anything about the times (certain species appeared) until you can get these calibration points from the fossils."

From the DNA comparison of penguins to other birds, such as ducks, scientists managed to establish the time frame of the birds' evolution and to estimate when the ancestor of all birds lived. It turned out that it lived around 90 million years ago.

In other words, birds lived side by side with the dinosaurs for some time and outlived the dinosaurs. This discovery mirrors in a certain sense the recent discovery of a mammal that lived side by side with the dinosaurs and it reinforces the idea that evolution works by gradual changes rather than by "big bangs".