Penguin : Sphenisciformes

Anatomy

Penguins are superbly adapted to an aquatic life. Their wings have become flippers; useless for flight in the air, but in the water penguins are astonishingly agile. Within the smooth plumage a layer of air is preserved ensuring buoyancy. This is the reason a chain of air bubbles stretches behind a diving penguin. The air layer also helpt insulate the bird in the icy waters of the Antarctic. The plumage of penguins in tropical and temperate zones is much thinner.

All penguins have a white underside and a dark (mostly black) upperside. This is for camouflage. A predator looking up from below (such as a Killer Whale or a Leopard Seal[?]) has difficulty distinguishing between a white penguin belly and the reflective water surface.

Diving penguins reach 6 to 12 km/h, though there are reports about velocities of 27 km/h (which are probably realistic in the case of precipitate flight). The small penguins don't usully dive deep. Their prey is caught near the surface, and most dives are only one or two minutes in duration. They can dive deep in case of need, however: the large Emperor Penguin has been recorded reaching a depth of 267 metres and staying down for 18 minutes.

On land, penguins are clumsy. They either waddle on their feet or slide on the belly across the snow.

Chinstrap Penguin hunting for krill (photo Uwe Kils)

Penguins have an excellent sense of hearing. Their eyes are adapted for vision under water, and are their primary means of locating prey. In air they don't see well, and in this environment penguins are near-sighted. Their sense of smell has not been researched so far.

Classification

All penguins belong to one order (Sphenisciformes) and one family (Spheniscidae).

• ORDER SPHENISCIFORMES
  • Family Spheniscidae
  • King Penguin[?], Aptenodytes patagonicus
  • Emperor Penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri
  • Gentoo Penguin[?], Pygoscelis papua
  • Adelie Penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae
  • Chinstrap Penguin, Pygoscelis antarctica
  • Rockhopper Penguin[?], Eudyptes chrysocome
  • Fiordland Penguin[?], Eudyptes pachyrhynchus
  • Snares Penguin[?], Eudyptes robustus
  • Erect-crested Penguin[?], Eudyptes sclateri
  • Macaroni Penguin[?], Eudyptes chrysolophus
  • Yellow-eyed Penguin[?], Megadyptes antipodes
  • Little Penguin, Eudyptula minor
  • African Penguin[?], Spheniscus demersus
  • Magellanic Penguin[?], Spheniscus magellanicus
  • Humboldt Penguin[?], Spheniscus humboldti
  • Galapagos Penguin[?], Spheniscus mendiculus

Name

The name penguin was originally applied to another bird, the Great Auk, formerly found in Newfoundland and on other islands off the Canadian coast, but now extinct. Indeed the auks look somewhat like penguins, and occupy a similar environmental niche in the Northern Hemisphere, but are not related. Penguin is thought by some to derive from the Welsh words pen (head) and gwyn (white), applied to the Great Auk, which had a conspicuous white patch between the bill and the eye (although its head was black), or from an island off Newfoundland known as "White Head". According to another theory, the original name was pen-wing, with reference to the rudimentary wings of both Great Auks and penguins. A third (not widely accepted) theory is that penguin comes from the Latin pinguis (fat).

Miscellaneous

The Linux logo/mascot Tux is a penguin. So is the protagonist of the dialogue-less Swiss animation Pingu that has been running since 1982. A penguin is the protagonist of the classic video-game Pengo[?],

Adelie penguin in Antarctica (photo Uwe Kils)

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Other meanings:

A British publisher - see Penguin Books[?]

A supervillain who is encountered in the Batman comic books.

A missile, see Penguin missile[?].

Common misspelling and questions (FAQ)

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