WELLINGTON, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Penguins are much older than previously thought and their evolution probably dates back to dinosaur times, according to a study of a giant ancient penguin fossil found in New Zealand.
The fossilized leg and toe bones found on the east of the South Island came from a huge penguin thought to be about 150 centimeters tall, the Christchurch-based Canterbury Museum announced Friday.
The new find, held at the museum, was one of the oldest penguin fossils in the world, dating back to 61 million years ago.
The bones differed substantially from previous penguin finds of a similar age and showed that the variety of Palaeocene penguins, living between 66 million and 56 million years ago, was greater than previously thought.
"Penguins had reached enormous proportions early on in their evolutionary history and were already more diverse 60 million years ago than we had previously assumed," said research leader Dr. Gerald Mayr of Germany's Senckenberg Research Institute.
"This diversity indicates that penguins probably evolved during the age of the dinosaurs more than 65 million years ago," Mayr said in a statement.
The fossil was found in the Canterbury region's Waipara River, which was renowned for its rare but well preserved bird fossils deposited only 4 million years after the extinction of the dinosaurs, said museum senior curator Professor Paul Scofield.
"We have found turtles, many species of shark, giant fish, two types of flying birds and two species of a penguin-like bird named Waimanu, considered to be the oldest fossil of any group of birds living today," Scofield said in the statement.
"Until now it had been assumed that Waimanu was the only penguin alive during this time."
Research curator Dr. Vanesa De Pietri said the fossilized lower leg bone was very different from that of Waimanu, both in size and in anatomical detail.
"Looking at this and the toe bones of the newly-discovered penguin we think it also walked differently from the cormorant-like gait of Waimanu. The larger penguin was already waddling like the penguins we see today," De Pietri said in the statement.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- For any Republicans determined to stop the seemingly unstoppable Donald Trump from becoming the party's standard-bearer, the upcoming Super Tuesday could be their best chance so far in this chaotic election cycle. The question is Acheter Air Max 97 Noir Argent Pas Cher , can they grab the chance?
According to polls, however, the cards are stacked against those Republicans who now seem to be receptive to any nominee as long as it is not Trump.
After three consecutive victories out of four races in February Homme Nike Air Max 97 OG GS Chaussures Blanche , now more than 80 percent of Republican voters believe that Trump will be their party's nominee, said a Rasmussen Report poll last weekend.
As the five Republican presidential candidates are barreling towards Super Tuesday on March 1, where 11 U.S. states will hold either Republican primaries or caucuses Homme Nike Air Max 97 OG GS Argent Blanche Rouge , a sweeping victories by Trump everywhere now seems increasingly possible.
The long-time Republican front-runner now leads the latest poll in eight of the 11 states which will vote on Tuesday.
Even Trump's major rival, Senator Ted Cruz from Texas, acknowledged that a strong showing by Trump on Super Tuesday means light out for all other candidates still struggling to survive under Trump's domination of the field.
"There is no doubt that if Donald steamrolls through Super Tuesday Acheter Homme Nike Air Max 97 Or Blanche Pas Cher , wins everywhere with big margins, that he may well be unstoppable," Cruz acknowledged on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
Contrary to pundit belief Air Max 97 Summit White Pas Cher Homme , Trump so far has not lost any ground since Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush bowed out after defeat in South Carolina and thus vacated a once crowded Establishment Lane for mainstream candidate Senator Marco Rubio to amass campaign resources.
According to a CNNORC international poll released on Monday, Trump now attracts 49 percent support among Republican voters, leading his nearest rival Rubio by a staggering 33-point lead.
Despite his formidable polling numbers air max tn blanche femme , however, Trump will not be able to end the nomination race on Tuesday no matter how strong his showing will be, since in this phase all delegates will be allotted proportionally.
As many as 595 Republican delegates are at stake on Super Tuesday. To win the party's nomination air max plus tn ultra femme , a candidate has to garner 1,237 delegates.
After Super Tuesday, a series of winner-take-all Republican primaries will be held across the country air presto ultra flyknit kaki , among which the Florida primary on March 15 with 99 delegates at stake has already attracted enormous media attention.
XINING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Images of at least two leopards, one of the world's most endangered species, have been caught on a camera installed at a nature reserve in northwest China's Qinghai Province, the provincial forestry department said Tuesday.
This is the second time that the species have been spotted in the province since 2015, when footage of a leopard and its cubs was captured in Zadoi County, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Researchers from the forestry bureau in the city of Yushu recently collected photos and video footage of leopards along the Tongtian River at an altitude of 3,500-3,600 meters in Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve. They deduced that two or more leopards live in the region.
They also found sambar deer, white-eared pheasants and some other rare species, which could be the leopard's prey in the area.