Red Super-penguin

io9.com explores the prehistoric majesty of the man-sized super-penguin:

The fossil was discovered in Peru and has been classified as Inkayacu paracasensis, but its less formal name is Water King. It’s not hard to see why – at five feet tall, it was twice the size of the largest living penguin. Of course, we might not immediately recognize this bird as a penguin, at least if we’re going strictly by the familiar tuxedo-like colors of its descendants. Instead of a black and white plumage, this penguin had a mix of reddish-brown and gray feathers.

The color of the feathers might seem like a relatively unimportant detail, but it actually provides crucial insight into how penguins developed.

Pictures at the link, more info at Science.

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