Aprosdokitos mikrotero
By Jack Wood on @thewoodparable
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Name: Aprosdokitos mikrotero
Status: Extinct
First Described: 2017
Described By: Hospitaleche et al.
Classification: Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Aequorlitornithes, Ardeae, Aequornithes, Austrodyptornithes, Sphenisciformes, Spheniscidae
Aprosdokitos, “The Smallest Unexpected One,” is newly described, early penguin from the Submeseta Formation in Seymour Island, Antarctica, living sometime between 38 and 33 million years ago, in the Priabonian age of the Eocene, in the Paleogene. This was a time period in which early penguins were diversifying rapidly, though Aprosdokitos is notable due to it’s small size. It is known from a small humerus, only about 50.8 mm long, which was small and slender. This is only slightly longer than the humerus of a Little Blue Penguin, though the humerus is not a good barometer for animal size, so the exact size of Aprosdokitos cannot be determined. It was only about half the size of other fossil Eocene penguins in Antarctica. It was analyzed and the bone does appear to come from an adult, indicating that such small penguins were their own species in the ecosystem of the time. It lived alongside other penguins such as Palaeeudyptes, and whales were also present in the area.
Sources:
https://paleobiodb.org/navigator/
Hospitaleche, C. A., M. Reguero, S. Santillana. 2017. Aprosdokitos mikrotero gen. et sp. nov., the tiniest Sphenisciformes that lived in Antarctica during the Paleogene. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie 283 (1): 25 - 34.
https://sketchfab.com/models/fb6ecf2c1be540be99a265bf1e7b7836
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