Archaeodyptes


Archaeodyptes is a genus of extinct penguins known from the Paleocene Waipara Greensand of New Zealand. The genus contains a single species, Archaeodyptes waitahaorum, known from a partial skeleton including skull bones. It is comparable in size to the modern yellow-eyed penguin.
Archaeodyptes is one of many early-diverging sphenisciforms from the Waipara Greensand, all of which represent some of the oldest known penguins in the fossil record. The other named genera include Daniadyptes, Muriwaimanu, Sequiwaimanu, Waimanu, Waimanutaha, and Waiparadyptes.