The oldest penguin fossils date at about 62 million years or just after the Cretaceous/Tertiary extinction event. Waimanu manneringi was found in New Zealand and was already flightless at this time. A slightly more recent penguin from 42 million years ago was found in Peru, this was named Perudyptes.
The present ice age only started about 2.6 million years ago so there would have been many species already extinct by this time.
The name Penguin was originally applied to the Giant Auk, a similar looking bird, now extinct, from the northern hemisphere but not related, (the last pair were killed in Iceland in 1844).
The present ice age only started about 2.6 million years ago so there would have been many species already extinct by this time.
The name Penguin was originally applied to the Giant Auk, a similar looking bird, now extinct, from the northern hemisphere but not related, (the last pair were killed in Iceland in 1844).
