5ft tall and red - penguin from 36 million years ago

Published on Thursday 30 September 2010 16:39

SCIENTISTS have uncovered the evidence of a giant extinct penguin, which walked the earth 36 million years ago.

The fossil, which includes evidence of scales and feather, was found in Peru.

It shows that the giant penguin's feathers were reddish brown and grey, distinct from the black and white look of living penguins.

Its size also differs from its modern counterparts - at nearly 5ft tall the new species - Inka-yacu paracasensis, or water king, is about twice the size of an emperor penguin, the largest living penguin today.

Julia Clarke, a palaeontologist at the University of Texas, said: "Before this fossil, we had no evidence about the feathers, colours and flipper shapes of ancient penguins. We had questions and this was our first chance to start answering them."

The fossil, revealed in the journal Science, shows that the flipper and feather shapes that make penguins such powerful swimmers evolved early, while the colour patterning of living penguins is likely to be a more recent innovation.

Like living penguins and unlike all other birds, Inkayacu's wing feathers were modified in shape, densely packed and stacked on top of each other, forming stiff, narrow flippers.