New penguin species found in New Zealand
Historic specimens of Yellow-eyed Penguin.
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Mounted specimen of Yellow-eyed Penguin. Photos courtesy of Canterbury Museum.
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Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Australian and New Zealand researchers have used ancient DNA from penguin fossils to make a startling discovery that may change the way we view species extinctions.
A team from the University of ÐÂÀ˲ÊƱ, the and in New Zealand, has identified a previously unknown penguin species while conducting research on New Zealand's endangered yellow-eyed penguin, one the world's rarest penguin species and the subject of an extensive conservation effort.
The penguin became extinct after Polynesian settlement but before 1500 AD, creating an opportunity for the yellow-eyed penguin to subsequently colonise the New Zealand mainland from its base in the sub-Antarctic islands.
"Our findings demonstrate that yellow-eyed penguins on mainland New Zealand are not a declining remnant of a previous abundant populat