Giant Prehistoric Penguin 1.5 metres Tall

Ancient leg bones, found in Palaeocene-aged deposits located on the shoreline of Pegasus Bay near the city of Christchurch (New Zealand), has led scientists to propose that dinosaurs would have been familiar with penguins.  Penguins and dinosaurs could have co-existed.  In addition, the leg bone fossils indicate that after the dinosaurs died out, some penguins became super-sized, standing around 1.5 metres tall.  The avian fossil material was excavated from sediments along the Waipara River, close to where this river meets the sea (Pegasus Bay).  It has been estimated that this giant, primitive penguin lived in a coastal environment some 61 million years ago.

Penguins and Dinosaurs

Researchers from the Senckenberg Society for Natural Research (Frankfurt, Germany), have concluded that the penguin lineage is much older than previously thought, suggesting that these marine birds very probably evolved during the Late Cretaceous and the first kinds of penguins would have been very familiar to dinosaurs that wandered the remnants of the southern continent Gondwana.

A Super-sized Palaeocene Penguin

New specimen (left) compared to W. manneringi and an extant Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) on the right.

Picture credit: Senckenberg Society for Natural Research

The picture above compares the fossil leg bones of the newly discovered penguin species, with that of another, smaller Palaeocene penguin found in the same area Waimanu manneringi, which was formally described in 2006.  The bones on the right are from the largest living species of penguin, the Emperor penguin (A. forsteri).   This fossil supports the theory that the ancestors of modern Aves rapidly diversified after the end Cretaceous extinction event occupying a number of niches that had previously been occupied by other types of bird and theropod dinosaurs.

An Illustration of Waimanu manneringi

Penguins probably waddled next to dinosaurs.

Picture credit: Senckenberg Society for Natural Research

When Did Penguins Evolve?

Although, Waimanu manneringi was a contemporary of the giant penguin, it had a different body plan, resembling a cormorant.  The two types of penguin were very different, this suggests that basal penguins probably evolved prior to the end of the Cretaceous.

Co-author of the scientific paper, Dr Paul Scofield (Canterbury Museum, New Zealand), explained:

“We believed up until this specimen was discovered that there was very little variation amongst these Palaeocene penguins.  We are now starting to understand that shortly after the extinction of the dinosaurs there were in fact two quite different groups of penguin.”

No Scientific Name as Yet

The lack of autapomorphies (distinctive features) and the fragmentary nature of the fossils has deterred the researchers from seeking to name their new prehistoric bird.

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur stated:

“The fossils probably represent a new species, however, with so few fossils to go on and with a lack of distinctive characteristics in the bones, it is not possible to erect a new species at the moment.  Should more fossil material be found, especially skull material, then a new prehistoric bird species could come about.”

The Prehistoric Penguin Compared in Size with a Modern Human

South Island giant penguin compared to modern human.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

For replicas and models of prehistoric animals: Eofauna Scientific Research Models.

The orientation of the leg bones suggests that, just like modern penguins, this ancient feathered friend probably waddled, walking in the same manner as its extant, smaller cousins.  The fossil discovery is highly significant as it will likely be used as an “anchor point” to determine how the penguin family evolved.  It is also very likely that other penguin species existed during the Palaeocene Epoch in this part of the world, but their fossilised remains have not yet been discovered.

Will More Fossils be Found?

The scientists are optimistic that the fossil site, just twenty miles north of the city of Christchurch, will yield further evidence of ancient sea birds.  Although, around twenty-five percent bigger than the largest penguin species around today (Emperor penguin), these fossils do not represent the largest penguin known to science.

To read more about one of the largest known penguin species: Picking up a Giant Prehistoric Penguin.

Penguins were not the only creatures around today, that would have been familiar to the dinosaurs.  Everything Dinosaur wrote an article after research had been published back in 2008 that suggested the bizarre duck-billed platypus co-existed with duck-billed dinosaurs.

To read the article: Duck-billed Platypus and the Duck-billed Dinosaurs.

Visit the Everything Dinosaur, user-friendly website: Everything Dinosaur.

Ancient, Long Extinct Animal Finds Place on Tree of Life

A bizarre shelled marine creature’s place in the Animal Kingdom has finally been resolved thanks to the efforts of a remarkable student at the University of Toronto.  Undergraduate student Joseph Moysiuk has identified Hyoliths, not as members of the Mollusca, which many palaeontologists had previously believed, but as lophophores and as such, they are closely related to brachiopods.

An Illustration of the Hyolith Haplophrentis

An illustration of the Hyolith Haplophrentis.

Picture credit: Royal Ontario Museum/Danielle Dufault

In the Hyolith illustration above, a tiny brachiopod can be seen attached to the nearest appendage of Haplophrentis.

Studying Hyoliths

The distinctive appearance and structure of the Hyolith skeleton has obstructed previous attempts to classify these animals.  All Hyoliths had an elongated, bilaterally symmetrical cone-shaped shell and a smaller cap-like shell that covered the opening of the conical shell (known as an operculum).  Some species also bore a pair of rigid, curved spines (helens) that protruded from between the conical shell and operculum (the shell cap), structures with no equivalents in any other group of animals.

An Extensive Fossil Record

The mineralised external skeletons (argonite) and their sessile/semi-sessile habit (living on the seabed), gives these animals, which range in size from 1 cm to around 5 cm in length, a good fossil preservation potential.

The earliest fossil evidence for this type of creature occurs in rocks dating from around 540 million years ago (Cambrian).  These filter feeders seem to have persisted throughout the Palaeozoic and the Hyolith fossil record is relatively abundant and geographically widespread.

The Hyolitha were very diverse during the Cambrian and the subsequent Ordovician geological period, before their fossil record and their presence as an important member of marine benthos communities (animals and plants living on the sea floor) declines.  Hyoliths are one of many types of marine invertebrate that failed to survive into the Mesozoic.

The Cambrian Hyolith Haplophrentis

Soft tissue of a Cambrian Hyolith (Haplophrentis) has been preserved.

Picture credit:  Royal Ontario Museum

Diverse in the Palaeozoic

In the picture of a Hyolith fossil above, (genus Haplophrentis – H. carinatus), the conical shape of the shell can be clearly made out and the partially extended lophophore (feeding organ) can be seen.  The lophophore consisting of numerous, blackened, thin, finger-like extensions is highlighted against the operculum.  The curved spines are the helens.

Writing in the academic journal “Nature”, student Joseph Moysiuk and his fellow authors, Durham University’s Martin Smith and Burgess Shale fossil expert Jean-Bernard Caron, studied over 1,500 fossil specimens from the mid-Cambrian strata that represent elements of the Burgess Shale (British Columbia) and the Spence Shale Formations (Idaho and Utah).  The Hyolith material (Haplophrentis) and its exceptional state of preservation permitted the team to assess the soft tissue structures and from this information the team were able to deduce their taxonomic affinities.

Dr Caron explained:

“Burgess Shale fossils are exceptional because they show preservation of soft tissues which are not usually preserved in normal conditions.”

Not Closely Related to Snails, Cephalopods and Other Molluscs

The analysis showed that Hyoliths are not closely related to snails, squid or other members of the Mollusca.  They are instead, more closely related to the Brachiopoda, a group of animals with a rich fossil record but with few extant representatives.  Brachiopods have a soft body enclosed between upper and lower shells (valves), unlike the left and right arrangement of valves in bivalve molluscs.  Brachiopods open their valves at the front when feeding but otherwise keep them closed to protect their feeding apparatus and other body parts.

Student Moysiuk commented:

“Our most important and surprising discovery is the Hyolith feeding structure, which is a row of flexible tentacles extending away from the mouth, contained within the cavity between the lower conical shell and upper cap-like shell.  Only one group of living animals – the brachiopods, has a comparable feeding structure enclosed by a pair of valves.  This finding demonstrates that brachiopods, and not molluscs, are the closest surviving relatives of Hyoliths.”

The undergraduate added:

“It suggests that these Hyoliths fed on organic material suspended in water as living brachiopods do today, sweeping food into their mouths with their tentacles,”

A Diagram Showing the Proposed Anatomy of a Hyolith

Diagrams showing the anatomy of the Cambrian Hyolith Haplophrentis.

Picture credit: Royal Ontario Museum/Danielle Dufault

The Function of the Helens

Examination of the orientation of the helens in multiple Hyolith specimens from the Burgess Shale suggests that these spines may have been used like stilts to lift the body of the animal above the sediment, elevating the feeding apparatus to enhance feeding.

Dr Caron led recent field exhibitions to the Burgess Shale.  This resulted in the discovery of many specimens that form the basis of this research.  The key specimens came from recently discovered deposits near Stanley Glacier and Marble Canyon in Kootenay National Park, about twenty miles south-east of the original Burgess Shale site in Yoho National Park.

Exploring the Burgess Shale

Student Joseph Moysiuk (left) in the field with Dr Jean-Bernard Caron.

Picture credit: Joseph Moysiuk

Solving a Puzzle

Palaeontology lecturer Martin Smith expressed his delight at being able to help solve a 175-year-old palaeontological puzzle.  Hyolith fossils have been included in a number of fossil studies previously, but until now, where these creatures featured in the tree of life remained open to speculation.

Dr Smith stated:

“Resolving the debate over the Hyoliths adds to our understanding of the Cambrian Explosion, the period of rapid evolutionary development when most major animal groups emerge in the fossil record.  Our study reiterates the importance of soft tissue preservation from Burgess Shale-type deposits in illuminating the evolutionary history of creatures about which we still know very little.”

Everything Dinosaur acknowledges the assistance of the University of Toronto in the compilation of this article.

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.

Exploring a Microscopic World 407 Million Years Old

Very often, it is the news about giant prehistoric animals that grab all the attention from the media.  Dinosaurs, Woolly Mammoths, pterosaurs and monstrous fish such as prehistoric sharks, get all the headlines, but today, we want to highlight a new paper published in the online, open access journal PLoS One, a paper that looks at the discovery of an exquisitely preserved fungus found in association with the minute eggs of a prehistoric freshwater crustacean.

The Rhynie Chert Lagerstätte

This freshwater fungus, lived far earlier in the history of our planet than any hominin, Woolly Mammoth, pterosaur or member of the Dinosauria for that matter.  In fact, this newly discovered species of fungus, a fungus that helped to breakdown freshwater plant matter, thrived at around the same time as the very first sharks.

A High Magnification View of the New Species of Fungus

Cultoraquaticus trewini, a new Early Devonian Chytridiomycota.

Picture credit: PLoS One

The fossils were discovered by a team of international scientists which included researchers from the Natural History Museum (London), the University of Copenhagen and the University of Maine.  The team analysed microscopic slices of Rhynie Chert from Aberdeenshire, Scotland.  The chert represents sedimentary deposits formed when volcanic material from hydrothermal vents periodically erupted and covered an area that featured a braided river channel and an alluvial flood plain.  These hot, viscose fluids preserved both primitive terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, providing a window into the life that existed in both these types of habitat in the Early Devonian.

Various types of fungi have been identified in the Rhynie Chert, this Lagerstätte has provided palaeontologists with evidence of fungal parasitism and symbiosis with early land plants and algae.

Fossils of the earliest freshwater branchiopod crustaceans (fairy shrimps and their close relatives), have also been discovered.

Cultoraquaticus trewini

The new species has been named Cultoraquaticus trewini, the genus name refers to the aquatic habitat of the fungus.  The specific epithet honours Professor Nigel Trewin (University of Aberdeen), for his contribution to the understanding of the geology of the Rhynie Chert.

The fungus has been attributed to the Phylum Chytridiomycota, based on its internal structure, the associated papillae and its size.  The exquisite preservation of this 407-million-year-old fossil has enabled scientists to assess this ancient species’ resemblance to extant fungi.  It seems that these fungi were a parasite of algae and primitive prehistoric freshwater plants.  The tiny, spiked structures seen in the photograph above (B, C and E) are (most likely), the eggs of the Early Devonian freshwater shrimp Lepidocaris rhyniensis.

Laser Scans Show the Fungus and the Eggs of the Early Devonian Crustacean (L. rhyniensis)

Confocal laser scanning images of resting eggs of Lepidocaris and of the fungus Cultoraquaticus trewini.

Picture credit: PLoS One

The tiny, rounded and very spiky eggs of Lepidocaris reaffirm the idea that ancient branchiopods adapted to freshwater environments early in the Devonian.

Comparison Between Lepidocaris (Extinct) and Linderiella (Extant)

Lepidocaris rhyniensis (A) and its resting egg (B) compared to modern anostracean Linderiella occidentalis (C) and resting egg of Linderiella santarosae (D). Brood pouch is indicated by an arrow. Scale bars represent 20 μm in (B) and 95 μm in (D).

Picture credit: PLoS One

The Earliest Eggs of the Branchiopoda

Although the research team cannot be one hundred percent certain that the tiny, spiky shapes are the eggs of Lepidocaris, they have made this conclusion based on the fact that L. rhyniensis fossil remains, including individuals at various growth stages, are relatively abundant in the Rhynie Chert deposits.  The fossils closely resembles the egg cysts of various members of Anostraca (fairy shrimps) and they, most probably, represent the earliest eggs of freshwater branchiopods discovered to date.

Sometimes, micro-fossils are not given the prominence they deserve in the mainstream media.  We praise the efforts of the research team for providing more information on the remarkable Rhynie Chert Lagerstätte and for identifying a new fungal/plant matter interaction that helped in the breakdown and mobilisation of nutrients in early freshwater food webs.

The scientific paper: “A New Chytridiomycete Fungus Intermixed with Crustacean Resting Eggs in a 407-Million-Year-Old Continental Freshwater Environment” published in PLoS One.

The Everything Dinosaur website: The Everything Dinosaur Website.

New Tetrapods from the Lower Carboniferous

Last spring Everything Dinosaur team members had the opportunity to travel to Edinburgh (Scotland), to view several early tetrapod fossils that had been excavated from a number of remarkable fossil sites located in the Scottish Borders.  This week sees the publication of a scientific paper that describes five new tetrapods, helping to greater enrich our understanding with regards to the evolution and diversity of some of the very first vertebrates to adapt to terrestrial environments.

Scotland 355 Million Years Ago

Scotland in the Early Carboniferous.

Picture credit: Mark Witton/National Museums of Scotland

Scotland and Romer’s Gap

During the Late Devonian and into the Carboniferous, the area of land that makes up much of Scotland today was part of a giant super-continent called Laurentia.  The Scottish Borders were located almost on the equator and the low-lying land was covered with some of the first large forests to evolve on Earth.

The climate was hot, humid and steamy, with seasonal flooding and also periods of intense drought.  A team of scientists, that includes leading early tetrapod specialist Professor Jennifer Clack (Cambridge University), reporting in the academic journal “Nature Ecology & Evolution” describe five new Early Carboniferous tetrapods, helping to narrow a fifteen-million-year hole in the fossil record known as Romer’s Gap.

Fossils of Late Devonian tetrapods have been found, an example of which is Acanthostega, a stem tetrapod, fossils of Acanthostega have been found in Greenland, including fossil material found by Jennifer Clack.  Acanthostega dates from around 365 million-years-ago, however, the next type of fossils found, date from rocks approximately 350 million-years-old and reveal animals with strong rib cages to support lungs and long, slender limbs – adaptations for a life on land.  Harvard professor Alfred Sherwood Romer, was one of the first scientists to research early tetrapods and to identify this hole in the fossil record.

This fifteen-million-year interval became known as “Romer’s Gap”.

Professor Alfred Sherwood Romer (1894-1973)

Harvard Professor Alfred Sherwood Romer.

Picture credit: Harvard University Archives

Five Almost Complete Fossils Plus Many Fragments of Bone

Building upon the early work of renowned Scottish palaeontologist Stan Wood and his co-worker Tim Smithson (Cambridge University), who, coincidentally, is also an author of this new paper, these researchers have identified a total of five new tetrapods from rocks laid down in the very Early Carboniferous (Tournaisian stage).

Although, isolated tetrapod limb bones dating from the Tournaisian faunal stage have been found outside of Scotland, most notably from the Horton Bluff Formation at Blue Beach, Nova Scotia (Canada), collecting from five Scottish locations has identified five new animals with at least seven other new taxa, that have yet to be fully studied.

Tournaisian Tetrapod Fossil Collecting Locations (Scotland)

Scottish tetrapod fossil locations.

The five new Tournaisian tetrapods named are:

1. Perittodus apsconditus “concealed odd tooth”, known from the cheek region of the skull, lower jaw bones and postcranial elements found at Willie’s Hole on the River Whiteadder (Chirnside).  The lower jaw measures a fraction under seven centimetres in length.
2. Koilops herma “hollow-faced boundary marker”, the fossils consist of a natural mould of an isolated skull found at Willie’s Hole (River Whiteadder, Chirnside).  The skull measures 8 centimetres long.

Two of the New Early Carboniferous Tetrapods (Perittodus apsconditus and Koilops herma)

New tetrapod tax identified from fossils found on the Scottish borders – Perittodus apsconditus and Koilops herma.

Picture credit: Nature Evolution & Ecology

The photograph above shows (a) a photograph of the natural mould of the skull of K. herma with interpretative line drawing (b).  Photograph of the main specimen block of Perittodus apsconditus (c), with reconstructions of the lower jaw (d-g).

Fossils and Line Drawings of Ossirarus kierani

Photographs of Ossirarus fossils with accompanying line drawings.

Picture credit: Nature Evolution & Ecology

Professor Clack et al Bridging Romer’s Gap

3.  Ossirarus kierani “Kieran’s scattered bones” from Burnmouth Ross end cliffs (see picture above which shows photographs of the fossil material and line drawings).  The species name honours the Kieran family who have done much to protect the natural habitat on this part of the Scottish coast.  The taxon has been described from a single block of stone with preserved skull elements and postcranial bones.  Ossirarus may have been a basal amniote, whilst the other four taxa named are classed as basal tetrapods.

4.  Diploradus austiumensis “double row of teeth from the mouth of the river”, a reference to the strange configuration of the teeth in the lower jaw and the fact that the specimen, consisting of a single block of bones, was found at Burnmouth Ross end cliffs.

5.  Aytonerpeton microps “small faced crawler from Ayton”, in reference to the size of the skull and the fossil find location (foreshore of Burnmouth Ross end cliffs heading towards the small village of Ayton).

Commenting on the significance of these new Scottish fossils, Professor Clack stated:

“We’re lifting the lid on a key part of the evolutionary story of life on land.  What happened then affects everything that happens subsequently, so it affects the fact that we are here and which other animals live with us today.”

Charcoal Analysis

Sedimentary evidence analysis indicates that these early land animals lived on the low-lying land that was heavily forested, a sort of primeval, prehistoric swamp.  This region was subject to frequent flooding, the fossils of various plants and invertebrates in conjunction with these exceedingly rare vertebrae specimens from locations such as Willie’s Hole are helping scientists to build up a picture of an Early Carboniferous palaeoenvironment – one of Scotland’s first wetlands.

It had been thought that atmospheric oxygen levels crashed during the Late Devonian/Early Carboniferous that inhibited the evolution of land-based vertebrates.  A study of fusinite (fossil charcoal) collected from Willie’s Hole and the Burnmouth locations not only indicated that wildfires did occur, devastating local habitats, but chemical analysis revealed that oxygen levels did not drop below a level of around 16% in the atmosphere during the Tournaisian.

The scientists compared these results to fusinite samples taken from both younger and slightly older strata and they concluded that atmospheric oxygen levels were stable across the Devonian/Carboniferous boundary and therefore, probably did not inhibit the evolution of terrestrial vertebrates.

Everything Dinosaur Comments

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“It’s great to see more research being carried out in these Scottish locations, building on the work of field palaeontologists such as Stan Wood and we recognise the important role of the Natural Environment and Research Council for funding the study.  The number of potential new taxa identified from the Scottish Borders raises the tantalising possibility that there are a lot more discoveries likely to be made in sedimentary rocks of a similar age.”

The scientific paper: “Phylogenetic and Environmental Context of a Tournaisian Tetrapod Fauna” published in the journal “Nature Ecology & Evolution”.

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.