Spheniscus anglicus
Spheniscus anglicus is an extinct species of banded penguin that lived during the Late Miocene in what is now Chile, South America. The species was described in 2015 by Richard D. Benson based on a fossil found in the Bahia Inglesa Formation in northern Chile.
| Spheniscus anglicus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Sphenisciformes |
| Family: | Spheniscidae |
| Genus: | Spheniscus |
| Species: | †S. anglicus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Spheniscus anglicus Benson, 2015 | |
Description
The holotype material consists of a fossil penguin skull, without a beak.[1] The species is described as smaller than the emperor penguin or the king penguin, but larger than any other in the genus.[2]
Discovery and naming
The only known current fossil of Spheniscus anglicus was recovered from the Bahia Inglesa Formation at an unknown date, and later sold at the 2001 Tucson Gem & Mineral Show to Mark Rasmussen, who later donated it to the Science Museum of Minnesota.[1][3] The species is named after the Bahia Inglesa Formation in which the fossil was found.[2]
Notes
- Benson 2015, p. 5.
- Benson 2015, p. 9.
- Benson 2015, p. 18.
References
Benson, Richard D (2015). "A New Species of Penguin From The Late Miocene of Chile, with Comments on the Stratigraphic Range of Palaeospheniscus" (PDF). Scientific Publications of the Science Museum of Minnesota. 8 (4). Retrieved June 18, 2021.