The ancient penguin would have towered over these ones. Kumimanu and other early penguins had already developed typical penguin features including flipper-like wings and an upright stance. Studies suggest early penguins were brownish, not the trademark black and white of today's penguins, Mayr said. "It's a common myth that penguins only live in very cold environments such as the Antarctic region," Tennyson said. "Today, Galapagos penguins live at the equator, and many fossils show that early forms of penguins lived in warm seas."

Source: Otago Daily Times December 12, 2017 20:26 UTC