| Inkayacu | |
|---|---|
| |
| Restorations of Inkayacu (below) and Icadyptes | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Sphenisciformes |
| Family: | Spheniscidae |
| Genus: | †Inkayacu Clarke et al., 2010 |
| Species: | †I. paracasensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Inkayacu paracasensis Clarke et al. 2010
| |
Inkayacu is a genus of extinct penguins. It lived in what is now Peru during the Late Eocene, around 36 million years ago. A nearly complete skeleton was discovered in 2008 and 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.