1. Scientists discovered a large penguin fossil in ancient times.
Scientists have found many ancient penguin fossils in the Antarctic region. Through these fossils, scientists really understand the history of penguins. It turns out that the ancient penguin was a big guy.
The latest archaeological research shows that during the Paleocene period from 65 million to 56 million years ago, a giant penguin lived, with a height of about 1.6 meters and a weight of 80 kilograms. The larger penguin appeared 37 million years ago, with a height of 2 meters and a weight of 1 15 kg.
Second, the evolution of penguins.
Scientists believe that ancient penguins began a new round of evolution after the extinction of dinosaurs. At this time, except for a few penguins, most penguins are still developing towards miniaturization. This evolution may be caused by ecological environment and food shortage. As we all know, the disaster that can cause the extinction of dinosaurs must be global. At that time, the ecological environment affected the whole world, and the Antarctic region will naturally be affected.
At the same time, the dramatic environment not only made dinosaurs extinct, but also 80% of the creatures on the earth began to die out at that time. So at that time, there were a lot of extinct creatures in the ocean. Penguins depend on marine life for food, and the sharp decline of marine life leads to the decrease of penguin food. But penguins are a very tenacious creature. They can not only live in the very cold Antarctic, but also have a very strong ability to starve. ? Although the long-term lack of food did not make penguins extinct, it still had a great impact on penguins. In this case, penguins can only continue to evolve into small ones if they want to live a better life and survive better. If they are small, they will consume less energy and need less food.
Survival of the fittest is a natural law, so after a long time, giant penguins have evolved into small penguins.