Spheniscidae

Penguins are a group of flightless semi-aquatic sea birds which live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galapagos penguin, lives at, and slightly north of, the equator. Highly adapted for life in the ocean water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage and flippers for swimming. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid and other forms of sea life which they catch with their bills and swallow whole while swimming. A penguin has a spiny tongue and powerful jaws to grip slippery prey.

Spheniscidae

Godot13 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
SphenisciformesPBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB, for Coelurosauria
Life habit
ground dwelling, solitaryPBDB, for Theropoda
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Theropoda
Environment
marinePBDB, for Sphenisciformes

Time the record covers

At least 48 million years on record.

The record covers at least 48.07 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 56 Mya to 0 Mya.

Paleocene — about 0 of 191 occurrencesEocene — about 41 of 191 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 11 of 191 occurrencesOligoceneMiocene — about 57 of 191 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 19 of 191 occurrencesPleistocene — about 19 of 191 occurrences57–55 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences55–53 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences53–51 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences51–50 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences50–48 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences48–46 Mya — about 1 occurrence46–44 Mya — about 1 occurrence44–42 Mya — about 1 occurrence42–40 Mya — about 3 occurrences40–38 Mya — about 6 occurrences38–36 Mya — about 12 occurrences36–34 Mya — about 12 occurrences34–32 Mya — about 3 occurrences32–30 Mya — about 0.9 occurrences30–29 Mya — about 0.9 occurrences29–27 Mya — about 2 occurrences27–25 Mya — about 4 occurrences25–23 Mya — about 3 occurrences23–21 Mya — about 7 occurrences21–19 Mya — about 5 occurrences19–17 Mya — about 4 occurrences17–15 Mya — about 3 occurrences15–13 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences13–11 Mya — about 1 occurrence11–9.5 Mya — about 7 occurrences9.5–7.6 Mya — about 7 occurrences7.6–5.7 Mya — about 18 occurrences5.7–3.8 Mya — about 14 occurrences3.8–1.9 Mya — about 15 occurrences1.9–0 Mya — about 58 occurrences48.07 Mya11.7 ka57 Mya0 Mya

191 occurrences of Spheniscidae on record, most of them in the Miocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

191 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

38 formations

La Meseta — 64.25°S, 56.72°WLa Meseta — 64.23°S, 56.63°WLa Meseta — 64.24°S, 56.65°WPisco — 15.58°S, 74.72°WPisco — 15.44°S, 74.87°WPisco — 14.56°S, 75.67°WPisco — 15.50°S, 74.80°WPisco — 15.55°S, 74.80°WPisco — 15.06°S, 74.08°WVarswater — 32.98°S, 18.15°EVarswater — 33.67°S, 18.43°ESubmeseta — 64.25°S, 56.60°WBahía Inglesa — 27.08°S, 70.84°WBahía Inglesa — 27.14°S, 70.88°WBahía Inglesa — 27.15°S, 70.88°WBahía Inglesa — 27.72°S, 70.99°WHillgrove — 45.13°S, 170.97°EBlack Rock Sandstone — 37.99°S, 145.04°EBlack Rock Sandstone — 37.98°S, 145.05°EGaiman — 43.30°S, 65.42°WGaiman — 43.28°S, 65.48°WGaiman — 43.33°S, 65.32°WMonte Leon — 49.53°S, 68.36°WHorcón — 32.70°S, 71.46°WTangahoe — 39.58°S, 174.28°ETangahoe — 39.59°S, 174.20°EBurnside — 44.49°S, 170.68°EGreta Siltstone — 42.97°S, 173.09°ECoquimbo — 29.07°S, 71.49°WCoquimbo — 29.97°S, 71.30°WBlanche Point — 30.13°S, 138.47°EConcord — 44.49°S, 170.68°ERio Turbio — 51.59°S, 72.37°WGoodwood — 37.91°S, 142.37°EBatesford Limestone — 38.09°S, 144.28°EGambier Limestone — 37.82°S, 140.64°ELeticia — 54.45°S, 66.44°WOtotara Limestone — 45.19°S, 170.88°EOtekaike Limestone — 44.86°S, 170.62°EArno Limestone — 44.77°S, 170.97°E

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The named rock units Spheniscidae has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 14 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 57 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Spheniscidae and its relatives

Miocene

Where Spheniscidae and its relatives were recorded in the Miocene.

Found in the same rock

1,095 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 121 sites for Spheniscidae, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

96 references

Each of the 191 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 84 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content1

Picture of Spheniscidae

Credit
Godot13
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

No 3D scan of Spheniscidae was found in MorphoSource and Sketchfab.

Smithsonian Open Access was not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itSphenisciformes through timeFormations of the MioceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Bonaparte 1831