 This new discovery is able to fill a major phylogenetic and stratigraphic (~20 million year) gap between the earliest fossil penguins ("Waimanu manneringi" and "Waimanu tuatahi", ~58–61.6 Ma) and the next oldest partial skeletons.The skull of "Perudyptes" is characterized by deep temporal fossae and an elongate, narrow beak that differs from other reported stem penguins in its short mandibular symphysis.The wing skeleton of Perudyptes preserves a combination of plesiomorphic features also observed in the basal penguin "Waimanu" and derived features shared with more crownward penguins.