Vol. XX. 1 SxrART-SL'TllKKLANl), Peil^llillS. 2"^ 



1920 J '- U 



Zeeilaiul. l^-ni;i.ins ol l\iU'cud\'l^lcs. said to hv. from the Ircrstoiic 

 of Oamaru, \n\\v bct'ii fully describtxl by Prof, fluxlcy. It was 

 an enormous bird compared to the present existing,' species, and 

 apparently stood upwards of 5 feet in height, with a wing measure- 

 ment of approximately 26 inches. The Seymour Island Penguin 

 must have been a veritable giant, standing over 6 feet in height, 

 and possessing wings of a far greater relative length, and of a 

 somewhat less modified type than its existing descendants. Four 

 other fossil Penguins from the Miocene of Patagonia are recorded 

 by Profs. Merceret and Moreni under the specific title? of Par- 

 aptcnodvtes antarcHciis, Palceosphemscus patagonicus, P. menzhieri, 

 and P. hergii. Strange to relate, these four species also show a 

 proportionately greater length of wing. The Giant Penguin of 

 Seymour Island differs from the other fossils in the greater length 

 and slenderness of the metatarsus. 



Fossils differing little if at al' from the present type of the Little 

 Blue Penguin {Einiyptula minor) are numerously recorded from the 

 Pliocene and Miocene of New Zealand. 



Prof. Watson considers " that the Penguins are the survivhig 

 members of a group that branched off early from tlie primitive 

 ' avian ' stem, but that at the time of their separation the stem 

 had so far diverged from reptiles as to possess true wings, though 

 the metatarsal bones had not lost their distinctness and become 

 fused into the single bone so character istic of all existing birds. 

 The ancestral Penguin," he argues, " must have had functional 

 wings, the muscles of which, through atrophy, have been con- 

 verted into non-contractile tendinous bands." " This view agrees 

 practically with that taken by Dr. Gadow and Prof. Furbringer." 



The majority of the Penguins still retain the habit of sleeping 

 wdth the head "tucked under the wing, although very little warmth 

 can be obtained from such a fin-like member. This is un- 

 doubtedly a relic of the habit formed wlien the Penguin did indeed 

 possess a warmth-giving wing. 



Penguins approximate to the Grebes {Podicipcs) and the 

 Divers {Colymhits) in the upright position when on land, in the 

 somewhat backward position of their short legs, and they also 

 bear some resemblance to them in the structure of their soft 

 internal parts. The digestive system of the Penguins is very 

 specialized, but possesses points in common with the Colymhida 

 and Podicipididce ; but, as the gut is very long and is thrown into 

 numerous stiaight, oblicpie, and irregular convolutions, it is 

 extremely difficult to form conclusions. Roughly speaking, they 

 may be said to be straight-gutted — that is, -the loops of the 

 intestine generally run parallel to each other — a condition 

 technically known as orthoccclous. On the one hand they show 

 undoubted afTfinities to the Petrels and Albatrosses, as one would 

 natm'ally infer; and on the other they are connected to tjic 

 Herons and Redbills by the Divers and Grebes. 



A Penguin flies through the water just as another bird llirs 

 through the air. The action of the wings is somewhat different. 



