Inkayacu
Sign in to saveInkayacu is a genus of extinct penguins. It lived in what is now Peru during the Late Eocene, around 36 million years ago. The only species, I. paracasensis, was named from a single nearly complete skeleton discovered in 2008. It includes fossilized feathers, the first known in penguins. A study of the melanosomes, pigment-containing organelles within the feathers, indicated that they were gray or reddish brown. This differs from modern penguins, which get their dark black-brown feathers from unique melanosomes that are large and ellipsoidal.
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Encyclopedic overview
7 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Description
- Discovery
- Paleobiology
- See also
- References
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Inkayacu is a genus of extinct penguins. It lived in what is now Peru during the Late Eocene, around 36 million years ago. The only species, I. paracasensis, was named from a single nearly complete skeleton discovered in 2008. It includes fossilized feathers, the first known in penguins. A study of the melanosomes, pigment-containing organelles within the feathers, indicated that they were gray or reddish brown. This differs from modern penguins, which get their dark black-brown feathers from unique melanosomes that are large and ellipsoidal.
== Etymology == The genus name derives from the Quechua words Inka for emperor or king and yacu for water, thus the name translates to "Water Emperor" or, more idiomatic, "king of the water". The specific epithet, paraparacasensis, refers to Paracas, where the fossils were found.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Inkayacu” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.