While flightless in the gentle wind , penguin " fly " through water with informality thanks to a miscellanea of adaptations – many of which are actually in their brains . By studying 34 - million - year - one-time penguin skulls , researchers trust to better understand the changes in their nous anatomy and sensational ability that accompany this transition to body of water . The findings were published in theJournal of Vertebrate Paleontologythis week .
These magnetic birds have more than 60 million old age of history , and there ’s still a lot we do n’t do it about penguin brain evolution . To look into the changes that occurred in their brains ( and when they occurred ) , an international team led by Claudia Tambussi ofCONICETused CT scans to create practical endocasts ( or internal roll ) of three skulls belonging to three ancient penguin species collect from the Eocene La Meseta Formation of Seymour Island in Antarctica . They also compared these with information from multiple extinct and bread and butter penguin mintage , as well as other skirt .
" Penguins are considered flightless , but when it comes to wing - motivate diving event they are essentially do submerged flight , " study cobalt - writer Daniel Ksepka of North Carolina State University say in astatement . " The Einstein morphology reflects this as penguins retain an overall ‘ flight - ready ’ encephalon . "
They found that an field call the Wulst ( which is connect to complex visual functions ) was enlarged – suggesting an increment in visual complexity – but olfactory modality was reduced . Additionally , the capitulum part disclose that the position of their heads helped penguins defend chemical equilibrium . " The neuroanatomy of penguins was still evolving roughly 30 million twelvemonth after the loss of ethereal flight , " tot Ksepka , " with trends such as the expansion of the Wulst and reduction of the olfactive bulb still in progress . "
Early penguin had many of the adaptations we see in New penguins , as well as adaptations establish in modern flying birds – which attests to their alone way of swimming .
On Seymour Island emerge the La Meseta Formation , the most prolific neck of the woods for fossil penguin remains worldwide in term of tender copiousness . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
