Check out Pharyngula on the new paper that uses penguin fossils to time the evolution of living bird groups. In October I posted this picture of a reconstruction of the penguin in question, which now has a name: Waimanu. I’d just add to PZ’s run down that this fossil is also important because it is part of the transition from flying ancestors to flightless living penguins. Its wings could still bend at the elbows.
Originally published March 19, 2006. Copyright 2006 Carl Zimmer.