Giant penguins of the past
Penguins have been around for tens of millions of years, and some of the early ones were enormous.
The first penguins
The first penguins evolved roughly 60 million years ago, around 50° south, close to where New Zealand is now. Smithsonian Ocean: Penguins Around 66 million years ago, penguins of the genus Waimanu lived in the waters off New Zealand. Smithsonian Ocean: Penguins
- The first penguins evolved roughly 60 million years ago, around 50° south, close to where New Zealand is now. Smithsonian Ocean: Penguins
- Around 66 million years ago, penguins of the genus Waimanu lived in the waters off New Zealand. Smithsonian Ocean: Penguins
The same Smithsonian page gives both dates. Every disagreement we found →
Giants
The heaviest known penguin, Kumimanu fordycei, weighed roughly 350 pounds (about 160 kg): about the size of a small bear. Smithsonian Ocean: Penguins The tallest giant penguin, Palaeeudyptes klekowskii, lived about 37 million years ago and measured 2 metres from beak tip to toe. Smithsonian Ocean: Penguins
The Australian Antarctic Division says some extinct penguins were even bigger than emperors, weighing perhaps 100 kg. Australian Antarctic Division: Emperor penguin Millions of years ago there were roughly 40 penguin species, more than twice as many as today. Smithsonian Ocean: Penguins
- The Australian Antarctic Division says some extinct penguins were even bigger than emperors, weighing perhaps 100 kg. Australian Antarctic Division: Emperor penguin
- The heaviest known penguin, Kumimanu fordycei, weighed roughly 350 pounds (about 160 kg): about the size of a small bear. Smithsonian Ocean: Penguins
Kumimanu fordycei was described in 2023, after many older estimates. Every disagreement we found →
Where the name came from
The great auk was the first bird to be called a penguin, but it wasn’t related to modern penguins: it was an auk, like puffins. Smithsonian Ocean: Penguins The word penguin may come from the Welsh ‘pen’ and ‘gwyn’ (white head). Smithsonian Ocean: Penguins
Kings and emperors
Kings were once thought to be the largest penguins. Only in 1844 did George Robert Gray of the British Museum separate them from the even larger emperor. Their genus name, Aptenodytes, means ‘featherless diver’. Australian Antarctic Division: King penguin The emperor’s closest relatives are king penguins. Australian Antarctic Division: Emperor penguin
Adélie penguins are named after Adélie Land in Antarctica, which the explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville named after his wife, Adéle. Australian Antarctic Division: Adélie penguin
