Inkayacu
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Inkayacu is a giant long-beaked extinct penguin. Fossils are known from the shore of Peru, which in the Eocene was a lot like it was today. It sources its food from the sea, but spends less time deep-diving than its more specialized modern relatives. What makes Inkayacu interesting is that the only known fossil preserved feathers - and the melanosomes that gave them their color. From this, we can tell the back of the wings were gray and part of the body was reddish. A far cry from today's almost universally black and white penguins. We have a few Inkayacu in the giant penguin exhibit in the Aquarium. They're the most aggressive of our penguins. |
Scientific name Location Time Height Diet |