Korora

Korora
Temporal range: Late Oligocene to Early Miocene, 25.2–21.7 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Sphenisciformes
Family: Spheniscidae
Genus: Korora
Marples, 1952[1]
Species:
K. oliveri
Binomial name
Korora oliveri
Marples, 1952

Korora oliveri, also referred to as Oliver's penguin, is a genus and species of extinct penguin from the Waitakian Stage (Late Oligocene to Early Miocene) of New Zealand. It was relatively small and slender, similar in size to one of the larger crested penguins. The penguin was described by Brian Marples in 1952 from fossil material (a tarsometatarsus) he collected in the Hakataramea Valley, in the Canterbury region of the South Island. The genus name Korora is the Māori term for the extant little penguin. The specific epithet honours Walter Oliver (1883–1957) a former director of the Dominion Museum.[2][3]

  1. ^ Marples, B.J. (1952). "Early Tertiary penguins of New Zealand". New Zealand Geological Survey, Paleontological Bulletin. 20: 43.
  2. ^ 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. 329. ISBN 978-1-877385-59-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Miskelly, C.M. (2013). "Oliver's penguin". New Zealand Birds Online. Retrieved 24 May 2014.