Marplesornis novaezealandiae, also referred to as Harris's penguin, is a genus and species of extinct penguin from New Zealand. It was a relatively large penguin, about the same size as a king penguin. The age of the only known specimen is uncertain, being often mentioned as Late Pliocene in age. However, due to the complex geology of the collection site, its actual age is somewhere between Early Miocene and Late Pliocene.
| Marplesornis Temporal range:
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Sphenisciformes |
| Family: | Spheniscidae |
| Genus: | †Marplesornis Simpson, 1972 |
| Species: | †M. novaezealandiae
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| Binomial name | |
| †Marplesornis novaezealandiae (Marples, 1960), Simpson, 1972
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| Synonyms | |
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History
editThe penguin was described by Brian Marples from fossil material (a fairly complete skeleton) collected by G. Harris in 1955 from Motunau Beach in the Canterbury region of the South Island. Marples placed it in Paleospheniscus, a genus known from Argentina. It was subsequently moved by George Gaylord Simpson to the new, monotypic genus Marplesornis, named to honour the original describer. The specific epithet is a Latinisation of "New Zealand". The common name recognises the discoverer of the type material.[1][2][3]
References
edit- ^ Simpson, G.G. (1972). "Pliocene penguins from North Canterbury, New Zealand". Records of the Canterbury Museum. 9 (2): 159–182.
- ^ Gill, B.J. (Convener, OSNZ Checklist Committee) (2010). Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica (4th ed.). Wellington: Te PaPa Press in association with the Ornithological Society of New Zealand. p. 330. ISBN 978-1-877385-59-9.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Miskelly, C.M. (2013). "Harris' penguin". New Zealand Birds Online. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
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