Fossil Skull Reveals New Insight into Penguin Brain Evolution

When they’re not being the stars of various animated movies, penguins are playing an important role in evolutionary studies. Penguins are unique among modern birds in that they ‘fly’ through the water. Although flightless in air, penguins have a number of adaptations which allow them glide effortlessly through the water. And some of these adaptations are in an unlikely part of their anatomy – their brains. Recent finds of fossil penguins from 35 million year old sediments in Antarctica have begun to shed light on the changes in penguin brains that accompanied their transition to water.

“Comparing multiple species (extinct and living penguins and living birds that both fly and dive), in the way our study does, brings us closer to the answers of two major questions about penguin brain evolution: (1) what major morphological changes have occurred, (2) when did these changes occur?” said lead author Claudia Tambussi. The new finds, which are described in the latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, include skulls which are so well-preserved that they could be CT-scanned to analyze their internal structure.

These scans revealed some interesting traits of these early penguins that speak to their transitional nature. Many of these findings have to do with the sensory abilities of these fossil species. For instance, one area, the Wulst, which is associated with complex visual functions, is enlarged. “The Antarctic fossils reveal that the neuroanatomy of penguins was still evolving roughly 30 million years after the loss of aerial flight, with trends such as the expansion of the Wulst and reduction of the olfactory bulbs still in progress”, said co-author Daniel Ksepka.

In addition to the increase in visual complexity, and reduction in olfaction, findings in the ear region shed light on the head position and equilibrium-maintaining abilities of the fossil penguins. All together, the findings show that these early penguins had many of the adaptations of living forms, while having a few unique traits not seen in the modern ones. Not only that, but some of these adaptations are found in modern flying birds, attesting to penguins’ unique mode of swimming.

This shows the fossil penguin skull.
This Eocene Antarctic fossil penguin skull was discovered at La Meseta Formation at Seymour Island. Credit: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Said Ksepka, “Penguins are considered flightless, but when it comes to wing-propelled diving they are essentially practicing underwater flight. The brain morphology reflects this as penguins retain an overall “flight-ready” brain.”

About this evolution and neuroscience research

Source: Cody Mooneyhan – Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
Image Credit: The image is credited to Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
Original Research: Abstract for “Endocranial anatomy of Antarctic Eocene stem penguins: implications for sensory system evolution in Sphenisciformes (Aves)” by Claudia P. Tambussi, Federico J. Degrange and Daniel T. Ksepka in Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Published online August 26 2015 doi:10.1080/02724634.2015.981635


Abstract

Endocranial anatomy of Antarctic Eocene stem penguins: implications for sensory system evolution in Sphenisciformes (Aves)

Penguins have a more than 60 million year long evolutionary history. Thus, stem lineage fossil taxa are key to understanding their evolution. Here, we present data on three virtual endocasts from stem penguin skulls collected from the Eocene La Meseta Formation of Seymour Island (Antarctica), along with comparative data from extant penguins and outgroups. These fossils appear to belong to three distinct species, and represent both the oldest (34.2 Ma) and the most basal penguin taxa that have yielded endocast data. Data collected from the fossils provide new support for several important shifts in neuroanatomy and cranial skeletal anatomy along the transition from stem to crown penguins, including (1) caudal expansion of the eminentia sagittalis, (2) an increase in the overlap of the telencephalon onto the cerebellum, (3) reduction of the bulbus olfactorius, and (4) loss of the interaural pathway. The large semicircular canal diameters of the Antarctic fossils as well as the more crownward stem penguin Paraptenodytes antarcticus together suggest that canal size increased in basal penguins relative to outgroup taxa but later decreased near the crown radiation. As in most other wing-propelled diving birds, the endocasts lack evidence of cerebellar folds and possess a relatively large floccular recess. Several aspects of the endocast morphology, including the exposure of the tectum opticum in dorsal view and the rostral displacement of the eminentia sagittalis away from the border of the cerebellum, are seen neither in crown penguins nor in Procellariiformes (the extant sister clade to Sphenisciformes) and so appear to represent unique characters of these stem taxa.

“Endocranial anatomy of Antarctic Eocene stem penguins: implications for sensory system evolution in Sphenisciformes (Aves)” by Claudia P. Tambussi, Federico J. Degrange and Daniel T. Ksepka in Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Published online August 26 2015 doi:10.1080/02724634.2015.981635

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