Penguin origins 2025

Mayr et al 2025 reported on
“new stem group sphenisciforms (ancestral penguins) from the Paleocene of the Waipara Greensand (Canterbury, New Zealand), and describe four new genera and species (Daniadyptes primaevus gen. et sp. nov., Waiparadyptes gracilitarsus gen. et sp. nov., Archaeodyptes waitahaorum gen. et sp. nov., Waimanutaha kenlovei gen. et sp. nov.) and a small species, which is tentatively assigned to the taxon Kupoupou.

“The fossils show previously unknown features of the earliest penguins, such as well-developed basipterygoid processes and a long hind toe, and for the first time gastroliths are preserved in a stem group sphenisciform.

That ‘long hind toe’ is short to absent in many penguins and their ancestors (Fig 1).

“Selective forces mainly acted on the wing, pectoral girdle, and foot morphology, whereas the greatly elongated beak remained relatively unchanged for more than 20 Myr.

That greatly elongated beak was retained from tern ancestors (Fig 1).

“Furthermore, the fossils support the New Zealand region as the centre of origin of sphenisciforms and document multiple radiations of stem group Sphenisciformes throughout the Cenozoic.”

The LRT supports a worldwide soaring tern origin of equatorial to Antarctic penguins and Arctic auks.

Figure 2. Waimanu is the penguin ancestor from the Middle Paleocene. ” data-image-caption=”

Figure 2. Waimanu is the penguin ancestor from the Middle Paleocene.

” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/waimanu588.jpg?w=221″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/waimanu588.jpg?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-29277″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/waimanu588.jpg” alt=”Figure 2. Waimanu is the penguin ancestor from the Middle Paleocene.” width=”584″ height=”792″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/waimanu588.jpg?w=584&h=792 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/waimanu588.jpg?w=111&h=150 111w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/waimanu588.jpg?w=221&h=300 221w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/waimanu588.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />

Figure 2. Waimanu is the penguin ancestor from the Middle Paleocene.

Here
in the large reptile tree (LRT, 2340 taxa) penguins arise from Uria, a diving Northern Hemisphere seabird with a black and white feather pattern, and these in turn arose from Thalasseus, a soaring seabird = tern with a worldwide distribution in temperate and tropical waters. Terns are related to kingfishers (Megaceryle), yet another extant flying + diving bird.

Figure 2. Thalasseus, Uria and Aptenodytes: various stages in penguin evolution according to the LRT. ” data-image-caption=”

Figure 2. Thalasseus, Uria and Aptenodytes: various stages in penguin evolution according to the LRT.

” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/penguin_origins_588.jpg?w=111″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/penguin_origins_588.jpg?w=380″ class=”size-full wp-image-94200″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/penguin_origins_588.jpg” alt=”Figure 2. Thalasseus, Uria and Aptenodytes: various stages in penguin evolution according to the LRT.” width=”584″ height=”1573″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/penguin_origins_588.jpg?w=584&h=1573 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/penguin_origins_588.jpg?w=56&h=150 56w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/penguin_origins_588.jpg?w=111&h=300 111w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/penguin_origins_588.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />

Figure 2. Thalasseus, Uria and Aptenodytes: various stages in penguin evolution according to the LRT.

The origin of derived flightless birds like penguins
in such far flung islands like Galapagos and New Zealand in the early Paleocene indicates derivation from soaring birds that must have been alive and radiating during the late Mesozoic, despite a paucity or lack of fossils.

The Mayr et al paper is behind a paywall
so information from this blogpost came from the abstract and publicity, neither of which mentions birds outside of the Paleocene in New Zealand.

References
Mayr G et al (9 co-authors) 2025. Multiple exceptionally preserved fossils from the Paleocene Waipara Greensand inform the diversity of the oldest stem group Sphenisciformes and the formation of their diving adaptations. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 204(4): zlaf080, https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf080

Publicity
phys.org/news/2025-08-dagger-beaks-strong-wings-fossils.html

“These discoveries are reshaping the 66-million-year story of how penguins evolved in the wake of the devastating Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction which followed the cataclysmic asteroid impact that wiped out most dinosaurs and many terrestrial and marine organisms.

“For a long time, the early evolutionary journey of penguins remained largely shrouded in mystery. The fossil record for these seabirds was very sparse, particularly for the crucial period immediately after the mass extinction event.

“he Waipara Greensand stands as one of the most productive fossil sites globally for understanding the earliest stages of penguin evolution.”