Anthropornis Pronunciation
Picture, name meaning, and how to say Anthropornis. Free guide for kids and parents.
How to Pronounce Anthropornis
an-THRO-por-nis
ALL CAPS = stressed syllable
What does Anthropornis mean?
human bird, man-sized ancient penguin
Name Roots
"anthropo"
human or man, from Greek 'anthropos'
"ornis"
bird, from Greek 'ornis'
Fun Facts
- ✓Anthropornis nordenskjoeldi could reach nearly 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall and weigh around 200 pounds (90 kg), making it one of the two or three largest penguins ever discovered in the fossil record.
- ✓Anthropornis lived between roughly 45 and 34 million years ago, meaning it swam Antarctic seas tens of millions of years before modern Emperor Penguins ever existed.
- ✓Fossils of Anthropornis were first discovered in Antarctica and on Seymour Island, one of the most penguin-fossil-rich sites on Earth, where dozens of ancient penguin species have been unearthed.
- ✓Unlike the stubby flippers of modern penguins, Anthropornis had longer, more primitive wing bones that paleontologists believe were an evolutionary stepping stone between flying ancestors and the flipper-winged penguins we know today.
- ✓At the time Anthropornis roamed the southern oceans, Antarctica was warmer and partially forested, so this giant penguin shared its world with ancient relatives of horses, whales, and early primates evolving elsewhere on the planet.
