The penguin species has appeared 20 million years ago

According to research published in the journal Biology Letters on November 13, penguins have appeared 20 million years ago and become diverse due to reduced global temperatures, opening up the possibility of residing in Antarctic.

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Photo: biznology

The team, led by Sankar Subramanian of Griffith University (Australia), sequenced the signs to help detect DNA from the genomes of 11 living penguins today.

Experts compare these continuous signs to creating a "molecular clock" , which sheds light on how evolution of penguins is based on normal changes in DNA.

With this comparison, scientists identified the ancestors of penguins that appeared 20.4 million years ago, much later than previously predicted between 41-51 million years.

Later, 11-16 million years ago, penguins became diverse and transformed into today's penguins.

The results of the study overlap with the decrease in Antarctic temperatures starting about 12 million years ago, suggesting the relationship between climate change and the evolution of penguins.