LIMA: The preserved feathers and scales of a giant fossilized penguin discovered on Peru's central coast give a glimpse of Peru's Eocene period, and how penguins evolved to their modern state, palaeontologists say.

The ancient version of the marine bird was about 1.5 meters (almost five feet) tall and weighed almost 60 kg (132 lb), significantly larger than today's Emperor Penguin, the biggest of the modern-day species.

“By looking at this fossil, we were prompted to ask new questions about living penguins and the world we live in today,” said Julia Clarke, an expert in avian anatomy at the University of Texas at Austin.

The palaeontologists date the remains to 36 million years ago. They dubbed the ancient penguin “Inkayacu paracasensis,” which means “emperor of the water” in the indigenous language of Quechua.

“Without doubt this is the most complete specimen of ancient penguins that exists,” said Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi, the lead palaeontologist and the head of the University of San Marcos' Museum of Natural History in Lima.

The mostly intact fossil skeleton allows scientists to understand the anatomy of early penguins, Salas-Gismondi said.

The colouring of the fossil suggests penguins did not start off black and white, and may have evolved over time to adapt to new climate conditions.

“The feathers we discovered are a reddish-brown. It was rather large and lived in a period when the planet was very warm, totally unlike the penguins of today. This specimen is very important for understanding the evolution of modern penguins,” Salas-Gismondi said on Monday.

“The colouring implies there were a range of colours seen in ancient penguins that are not seen today. The difference seems to relate to shifting penguin ecology,” Clarke said.

A young researcher first stumbled upon the remains in 2006, when he was studying the habits of aquatic birds in the Paracas National Reserve, 280 km south of Lima.

Salas-Gismondi, who led an excavation in 2007, says the skeleton was preserved under a protective blanket of sediment, in an anaerobic environment when world temperatures were at their highest. The teeth of a prehistoric whale and shark cartilage millions of years old have previously been recovered near Paracas.

“It was a truly incredible moment to see something like this for the first time,” Salas-Gismondi said.

The findings were first revealed in the Sept. 30 issue of Science.—Reuters