115-507: Diomedea demersa Linnaeus, 1758 The African penguin ( Spheniscus demersus ), also known as Cape penguin or South African penguin , is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. Like all penguins, it is flightless , with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat. Adults weigh an average of 2.2–3.5 kg (4.9–7.7 lb) and are 60–70 cm (24–28 in) tall. The species has distinctive pink patches of skin above
230-519: A leopard seal ) has difficulty distinguishing between a white penguin belly and the reflective water surface. The dark plumage on their backs camouflages them from above. Gentoo penguins are the fastest underwater birds in the world. They are capable of reaching speeds up to 36 km (about 22 miles) per hour while searching for food or escaping from predators. They are also able to dive to depths of 170–200 meters (about 560–660 feet). The small penguins do not usually dive deep; they catch their prey near
345-454: A breeding season, though the rate the same pair recouples varies drastically. Most penguins lay two eggs in a clutch, although the two largest species, the emperor and the king penguins , lay only one. With the exception of the emperor penguin, where the male does it all, all penguins share the incubation duties. These incubation shifts can last days and even weeks as one member of the pair feeds at sea. Penguins generally only lay one brood;
460-517: A combination of several threats. It is a charismatic species and is popular with tourists. Other vernacular names of the species include black-footed penguin and jackass penguin , due to the species' loud, donkey-like noise (although several related species of South American penguins produce the same sound). They can be found along the coast of South Africa and Namibia . In 1747, the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and
575-545: A continuous circumpolar flow only around 30 mya, on the one hand forcing the Antarctic cooling, and on the other facilitating the eastward expansion of Spheniscus to South America and eventually beyond. Despite this, there is no fossil evidence to support the idea of crown radiation from the Antarctic continent in the Paleogene, although DNA study favors such a radiation. Later, an interspersed period of slight warming
690-563: A decomposed state on the shores of Brazil. The causes of death were investigated. The birds were young and "natural causes" were assumed. Prior to 2010, only roughly 10 dead penguins would be expected to be found ashore in a typical year. In early March 2022, 115 penguins were found dead in the coast next to Toltén River , southern Chile . Besides the penguins 104 white-chinned petrel , five guanay cormorant , one Chilean dolphin and one South American sea lion were found dead. In July 2023, more than 2000 dead penguins were washed up on
805-579: A description of the African penguin in the second volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds . He used the English name "The Black-Footed Penguins". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on two preserved specimens that had been brought to London . He suspected that they had been collected near the Cape of Good Hope . When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for
920-574: A few days before a collecting effort to ensure that only freshly laid eggs were sold. This added to the drastic decline of the African penguin population around the Cape coast, a decline which was hastened by the removal of guano from islands for use as fertiliser, eliminating the burrowing material used by penguins. Penguins remain susceptible to pollution of their habitat by petrochemicals from spills, shipwrecks and cleaning of tankers while at sea. Accounts of African penguins impacted by oil date back to
1035-815: A group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae ( / s f ɪ ˈ n ɪ s ɪ d iː , - d aɪ / ) of the order Sphenisciformes ( / s f ɪ ˈ n ɪ s ə f ɔːr m iː z / ). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere : only one species , the Galápagos penguin , is found north of the Equator . Highly adapted for life in the ocean water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage and flippers for swimming. Most penguins feed on krill , fish , squid and other forms of sea life which they catch with their bills and swallow whole while swimming. A penguin has
1150-462: A group of penguins on land is a waddle , and a group of penguins in the water is a raft . Since 1871, the Latin word Pinguinus has been used in scientific classification to name the genus of the great auk ( Pinguinus impennis , meaning "plump or fat without flight feathers "), which became extinct in the mid-19th century. As confirmed by a 2004 genetic study, the genus Pinguinus belongs in
1265-444: A male-biased adult sex ratio and may indicate that conservation strategies focused on benefiting female African penguins may be necessary. The average lifespan of an African penguin is 10 to around 25 years in the wild and up to 30 in captivity. The primary predators of African penguins at sea include sharks and fur seals . While nesting: kelp gulls , Cape genets , mongooses , caracals and domestic cats and dogs may prey on
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#17327728478681380-424: A maritime context, pen blaen means 'front end or part, bow (of a ship), prow'. An alternative etymology links the word to Latin pinguis , which means 'fat' or 'oil'. Support for this etymology can be found in the alternative Germanic word for penguin, fettgans or 'fat-goose', and the related Dutch word vetgans . Adult male penguins are sometimes called cocks , females sometimes called hens ;
1495-527: A maximum depth of 130 m (430 ft) and duration of 275 seconds has been recorded. The African penguin is monogamous ; it breeds in colonies and pairs return to the same site each year. It has an extended breeding season, with nesting usually peaking from March to May in South Africa and November to December in Namibia. A clutch of two eggs is laid either in burrows burrowed in guano or nests in
1610-485: A mostly Subantarctic distribution centred on South America ; some, however, range quite far northwards. They all lack carotenoid colouration and the former genus has a conspicuous banded head pattern; they are unique among living penguins by nesting in burrows. This group probably radiated eastwards with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current out of the ancestral range of modern penguins throughout
1725-535: A region around 2,000 km south of the equator 35 mya , during the Late Eocene , a climate decidedly warmer than today. The word penguin first appears in literature at the end of the 16th century as a synonym for the great auk . When European explorers discovered what are today known as penguins in the Southern Hemisphere, they noticed their similar appearance to the great auk of
1840-689: A severe shortage of food like the Galapagos penguins , because they have a consistent food supply being located on the Atlantic coast of South America. The presence of the large continental shelf in the Atlantic Ocean lets Magellanic penguins forage far from their breeding colony. Jellyfish including species in the genera Chrysaora and Cyanea were found to be actively sought-out food items, while they previously had been thought to be only accidentally ingested. Similar preferences were found in
1955-915: A spill from the oil tanker Syros . After the event, oiled penguins were also found in Brazil, along with others in weakened or malnourished condition, which prompted speculation about the Uruguayan oil spill's impact on prey availability. Exposure to oil can reduce penguins' immunity and make them vulnerable to fungus, bacteria and lung problems. Zoo representatives from around the world have adopted Magellanic penguin hatchlings and bred them in captivity, which serves to build insurance populations (though these animals are unable to participate in seasonal migration events or forage for prey, unlike wild populations). Climate change has displaced fish populations, causing some Magellanic penguins to swim an extra 40 km (25 miles) further from their nests to catch fish. While
2070-408: A spiny tongue and powerful jaws to grip slippery prey. They spend about half of their lives on land and the other half in the sea. The largest living species is the emperor penguin ( Aptenodytes forsteri ): on average, adults are about 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) tall and weigh 35 kg (77 lb). The smallest penguin species is the little blue penguin ( Eudyptula minor ), also known as
2185-416: A stress response, with elevated levels of corticosterone in their blood. The elevated corticosterone is detrimental to the development of muscle strength, growth, and immune function. Large breeding colonies are vulnerable to oil spills , which kill 20,000 adults and 22,000 juveniles every year off the coast of Argentina. Chronic pollution by unreported oil discharges made at sea by international shipping
2300-494: A very recognisable appearance, with a thick band of black that is in the shape of an upside-down horseshoe. They have black feet and black spots that vary in size and shape between individuals. Magellanic penguins share a similar bar marking that often confuses the two; the Magellanic has a double bar on the throat and chest, whereas the African has a single bar. These penguins have the nickname "jackass penguin", which comes from
2415-737: Is a persistent problem, particularly in the Strait of Magellan . In Chile, the species is also exposed to oil spills from shipping. Chilean oil spills impacting penguins include spills from the Napier (1973) the VLCC Metula (1974), the Jose Fuchs (2001) and the tanker Berge Nice (2004). The species is also exposed to spills which occur in other countries as penguins follow their annual migratory paths. In 2008, at least 72 Magellanic penguins were oiled and killed near Montevideo, Uruguay after
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#17327728478682530-522: Is black with a broad white border that runs from behind the eye, around the black ear-coverts and chin, and joins at the throat. Chicks and younger penguins have grey-blue backs, with a more faded grey-blue colour on their chest. Magellanic penguins can live up to 25 years in the wild, but as much as 30 years in captivity. Captain Eo, a male Magellanic penguin at the San Francisco Zoo , died in 2022 at
2645-465: Is from Ancient Greek word σφήν ( sphēn ) meaning "wedge" and is a reference to the animal's thin, wedge-shaped flippers. The specific epithet demersus is Latin meaning "plunging" (from demergere meaning "to sink"). Banded penguins are found mainly in the Southern Hemisphere with the Humboldt penguin and Magellanic penguins found in southern South America and the Galápagos penguin found in
2760-672: Is largely restricted to 24 islands from Namibia to Algoa Bay, South Africa, with the Boulders Beach colony being an exception to this rule. The total population fell to approximately 150,000–180,000 in 2000. Of those, 56,000 belonged to the Dassen Island colony and 14,000 to the Robben Island colony. The colony at Dyer Island in South Africa fell from 46,000 in the early 1970s to 3,000 in 2008. In 2008, 5,000 breeding pairs were estimated to live in Namibia. In 2010,
2875-460: Is much greater than in air). The emperor penguin has a maximum feather density of about nine feathers per square centimeter which is actually much lower than other birds that live in Antarctic environments. However, they have been identified as having at least four different types of feather: in addition to the traditional feather, the emperor has afterfeathers , plumules , and filoplumes . The afterfeathers are downy plumes that attach directly to
2990-788: Is one of the species to which the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) applies. In September 2010, it was listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act . As of 2024, the African penguin is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List , with the remaining mature individuals around 19,800 birds in a declining population. Many organisations such as SANCCOB , Dyer Island Conservation Trust, SAMREC , The National Aviary in Pittsburgh, and Raggy Charters with
3105-457: Is or includes the paleeudyptines as recognized today – occurred on most Antarctic and Subantarctic coasts. Size plasticity was significant at this initial stage of radiation : on Seymour Island , Antarctica, for example, around 10 known species of penguins ranging in size from medium to large apparently coexisted some 35 mya during the Priabonian (Late Eocene). It is not known whether
3220-674: Is putting them on private, unprotected lands. As a result of these changes, some penguins are known to have been lost or confused. At present, 12 of 17 penguin species are experiencing rapid population declines. A recent study of professor Dee Boersma showed that an increase of rainstorms caused by climate change affecting weather patterns has had a large impact in the chicks' population. The chicks have not yet grown waterproof feathers so they are more likely to die of hypothermia when they get wet during big storms. Increased frequency of extreme events, such as storms, drought, temperature extremes, and wildfires, associated with climate change, increases
3335-477: Is raised. A successful Magellanic is considered to be able to raise 0.7 chicks on average per breeding season. Magellanic penguins lay eggs in warm places where the temperature remains over 20 °C (68 °F). The male and female penguins take turns hatching, as they forage far away from their nests. The males return from the sea on the day the second egg is laid to take their turn incubating The second eggs are generally larger and with higher temperature than
3450-489: Is sometimes called " higher waterbirds " to distinguish them from the more ancient waterfowl . This group contains such birds as storks , rails , and the seabirds , with the possible exception of the Charadriiformes . Inside this group, penguin relationships are far less clear. Depending on the analysis and dataset, a close relationship to Ciconiiformes or to Procellariiformes has been suggested. Some think
3565-404: Is used by parents and chicks to locate one another in crowded colonies . Their eyes are adapted for underwater vision and are their primary means of locating prey and avoiding predators; in air it has been suggested that they are nearsighted , although research has not supported this hypothesis. Penguins have a thick layer of insulating feathers that keeps them warm in water (heat loss in water
African penguin - Misplaced Pages Continue
3680-643: Is well-researched, many prehistoric forms are not fully described . Some seminal articles about the evolutionary history of penguins have been published since 2005. The basal penguins lived around the time of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event in the general area of southern New Zealand and Byrd Land , Antarctica. Due to plate tectonics , these areas were at that time less than 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) apart rather than 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi). The most recent common ancestor of penguins and Procellariiformes can be roughly dated to
3795-776: The Oxford English Dictionary , the American Heritage Dictionary , the Century Dictionary and Merriam-Webster , on the basis that the name was originally applied to the great auk, either because it was found on White Head Island ( Welsh : Pen Gwyn ) in Newfoundland, or because it had white circles around its eyes (though the head was black). However, the Welsh word pen can also be used to mean 'front' and, in
3910-547: The Adélie penguin , yellow-eyed penguin and little penguin . Magellanic penguins travel in large groups when hunting for food. In the breeding season, these birds gather in large nesting colonies at the coasts of Argentina , southern Chile , and the Falkland Islands , which have a density of 20 nests per 100 m (1,100 sq ft). The breeding season begins with the arrival of adult Magellanic penguins at
4025-472: The Antarctic Peninsula and Patagonia have not yielded Paleogene fossils of the subfamily. Also, the earliest spheniscine lineages are those with the most southern distribution. The genus Aptenodytes appears to be the basalmost divergence among living penguins. They have bright yellow-orange neck, breast, and bill patches; incubate by placing their eggs on their feet, and when they hatch
4140-630: The Avian Island in Antarctica , Australia , and New Zealand . It is the most numerous of the Spheniscus banded penguins . Its nearest relatives are the African penguin , the Humboldt penguin , and the Galápagos penguins . The Magellanic penguin was named after Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan , who spotted the birds in 1520. The species is listed as being of Least Concern by
4255-646: The Campanian – Maastrichtian boundary, around 70–68 mya. The oldest known fossil penguin species is Waimanu manneringi , which lived 62 mya in New Zealand. While they were not as well-adapted to aquatic life as modern penguins, Waimanu were flightless, with short wings adapted for deep diving. They swam on the surface using mainly their feet, but the wings were – as opposed to most other diving birds (both living and extinct) – already adapting to underwater locomotion. Perudyptes from northern Peru
4370-615: The Chattian (Late Oligocene), starting approximately 28 mya. While the two genera separated during this time, the present-day diversity is the result of a Pliocene radiation, taking place some 4–2 mya. The Megadyptes – Eudyptes clade occurs at similar latitudes (though not as far north as the Galápagos penguin ), has its highest diversity in the New Zealand region, and represents a westward dispersal. They are characterized by hairy yellow ornamental head feathers; their bills are at least partly red. These two genera diverged apparently in
4485-568: The Northern Hemisphere and named them after this bird, although they are not closely related. The etymology of the word penguin is still debated. The English word is not apparently of French , Breton or Spanish origin (the latter two are attributed to the French word pingouin ), but first appears in English or Dutch. Some dictionaries suggest a derivation from Welsh pen , 'head' and gwyn , 'white', including
4600-470: The Treasure oil spill, the species is considered a good "candidate for a captive-breeding programme which aims to release offspring into the wild"; however, worry about the spread of new strains of avian malaria is a major concern in the situation. Bringing the birds inland led to the exposure of penguins to parasites and disease vectors such as mosquitoes carrying avian malaria, which has caused 27% of
4715-671: The University of Cape Town 's FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology found that rehabilitating oiled African penguins has resulted in the current population being 19% larger than it would have been in the absence of SANCCOB's rehabilitation efforts. In February 2015, the Dyer Island Conservation Trust opened the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary (APSS) in Gansbaai , South Africa. The centre
African penguin - Misplaced Pages Continue
4830-494: The phylogenetic taxon Spheniscidae to what here is referred to as Spheniscinae. Furthermore, they restrict the phylogenetic taxon Sphenisciformes to flightless taxa, and establish the phylogenetic taxon Pansphenisciformes as equivalent to the Linnean taxon Sphenisciformes, i.e., including any flying basal "proto-penguins" to be discovered eventually. Given that neither the relationships of the penguin subfamilies to each other nor
4945-682: The pumping of bilges at sea had killed tens of thousands of African penguins. At the time, the Dassen Island colony was being passed by 650 oil tankers each month because the Suez Canal had become blocked with wrecked vessels, thus increasing maritime traffic past the Cape of Good Hope. In 1979, an oil spill prompted the collection and treatment of 150 African penguins from St. Croix Island near Port Elizabeth. The animals were later released at Robben Island and four of them promptly swam back to St. Croix Island, surprising scientists. In 1983,
5060-479: The tenth edition , he placed the African penguin with the wandering albatross in the genus Diomedea . Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Diomedea demersa and cited Edwards' work. The African penguin is now placed with the banded penguins in the genus Spheniscus that was introduced in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson . The genus name Spheniscus
5175-579: The "heterothermic loophole" that penguins utilize in order to survive in Antarctica. All extant penguins, even those that live in warmer climates, have a counter-current heat exchanger called the humeral plexus. The flippers of penguins have at least three branches of the axillary artery, which allows cold blood to be heated by blood that has already been warmed and limits heat loss from the flippers. This system allows penguins to efficiently use their body heat and explains why such small animals can survive in
5290-405: The 1930s. African penguins' exposure to oil spills is both chronic (higher frequency small discharges of oil at sea) and acute (rare maritime disasters where large volumes of oil are released in a single event). Penguins of many species have been impacted by oil spills across the southern hemisphere. In 1948, the tanker Esso Wheeling sank, subsequently oiling and killing thousands of penguins of
5405-484: The Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) and took more than three months to complete. This was the largest animal rescue event in history; more than 91% of the penguins were successfully rehabilitated and released – an amazing feat that could not have been accomplished without such a tremendous international response. Due to the positive outcome of African penguins being raised in captivity after tragedies such as
5520-642: The Dyer Island colony. In 1953, dead penguins were among a range of dead birds, fish and other marine life that washed ashore after the tanker Sliedrecht was holed and spilled oil near Table Bay . In 1971, the SS Wafra oil spill impacted the African penguin colony of Dyer Island. In 1972, oil spilt following the Oswego-Guardian and Texanita collision oiled roughly 500 penguins. In 1975, newspapers reported that oil pollution from shipwrecks and
5635-496: The IUCN. Magellanic penguins are medium-sized penguins which grow to be 61–76 cm (24–30 in) tall and weigh between 2.7 and 6.5 kg (6.0 and 14.3 lb). The males are larger than the females, and the weight of both drops while the parents raise their young. Adults have black backs and white abdomens. There are two black bands between the head and the breast, with the lower band shaped in an inverted horseshoe. The head
5750-526: The Middle Miocene ( Langhian , roughly 15–14 mya), although the living species of Eudyptes are the product of a later radiation, stretching from about the late Tortonian (Late Miocene, 8 mya) to the end of the Pliocene. The geographical and temporal pattern of spheniscine evolution corresponds closely to two episodes of global cooling documented in the paleoclimatic record . The emergence of
5865-517: The Pacific Ocean near the equator. All are similar in shape, colour and behaviour. African penguins grow to 60–70 cm (24–28 in) tall and weigh between 2.2–3.5 kg (4.9–7.7 lb). The beak length of the African penguin varies, usually growing between 20–30 cm (7.9–11.8 in). They have a black stripe and black spots on the chest, the pattern of which is unique to each penguin, like human fingerprints. The sweat glands above
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#17327728478685980-561: The Penguin Research Fund in Port Elizabeth are working to halt the decline of the African penguin. Measures include: monitoring population trends, hand-rearing and releasing abandoned chicks, establishing artificial nests and proclaiming marine reserves in which fishing is prohibited. Some colonies (such as on Dyer Island ) are suspected to be under heavy pressure from predation by Cape fur seals and may benefit from
6095-542: The Spheniscinae lies probably in the latest Paleogene and, geographically, it must have been much the same as the general area in which the order evolved: the oceans between the Australia-New Zealand region and the Antarctic. Presumably diverging from other penguins around 40 mya, it seems that the Spheniscinae were for quite some time limited to their ancestral area, as the well-researched deposits of
6210-683: The Spheniscinae, as Aptenodytes ' autapomorphies are, in most cases, fairly pronounced adaptations related to that genus' extreme habitat conditions. As the former genus, Pygoscelis seems to have diverged during the Bartonian, but the range expansion and radiation that led to the present-day diversity probably did not occur until much later; around the Burdigalian stage of the Early Miocene , roughly 20–15 mya. The genera Spheniscus and Eudyptula contain species with
6325-542: The Subantarctic lineage at the end of the Bartonian corresponds with the onset of the slow period of cooling that eventually led to the ice ages some 35 million years later. With habitat on the Antarctic coasts declining, by the Priabonian more hospitable conditions for most penguins existed in the Subantarctic regions rather than in Antarctica itself. Notably, the cold Antarctic Circumpolar Current also started as
6440-530: The age of 40. Young birds usually have a blotched pattern on their feet, which fades as they grow up into adulthood. By the time these birds reach about ten years of age, their feet usually become all black. Like other species of penguins, the Magellanic penguin has very rigid wings used to swim under water. Magellanic penguins feed in the water, preying on small pelagic fish , hagfish , cuttlefish , squid , krill , and other crustaceans , and ingest sea water with their prey. Their salt-excreting gland rids
6555-533: The air. In the water, however, penguins are astonishingly agile. Penguins' swimming looks very similar to birds' flight in the air. Within the smooth plumage a layer of air is preserved, ensuring buoyancy. The air layer also helps insulate the birds in cold waters. On land, penguins use their tails and wings to maintain balance for their upright stance. All penguins are countershaded for camouflage – that is, they have black backs and wings with white fronts. A predator looking up from below (such as an orca or
6670-521: The band. The beak is more pointed than that of the Humboldt penguin . The African penguin's colouring is a form of protective colouration known as countershading . The white undersides of the birds are difficult to spot by predators under the water and the penguins' black backs blend in with the water when viewed from above. African penguins resemble and are thought to be related to the Humboldt, Magellanic and Galápagos penguins. African penguins have
6785-575: The breeding colonies in September and extends into late February and March when the chicks are mature enough to leave the colonies. One of the largest of these colonies is located at Punta Tombo . Nests are built under bushes or in burrows. Two eggs are laid. Incubation lasts 39–42 days, a task which the parents share in 10- to 15-day shifts. The chicks are cared for by both parents for 29 days and are fed every two to three days. Normally, both are raised through adulthood, though occasionally only one chick
6900-464: The breeding season is complete, Magellanic penguins migrate north for the winter, where they feed in waters offshore from Peru and Brazil . The species is classified as Least Concern and decreasing. Magellanic penguin populations face various pressures, including exposure to reported and unreported oil spills, changes in prey availability and climate change. Natural predation occurs by sea lions , giant petrels , and leopard seals which prey on
7015-421: The chicks are almost naked. This genus has a distribution centred on the Antarctic coasts and barely extends to some Subantarctic islands today. Pygoscelis contains species with a fairly simple black-and-white head pattern; their distribution is intermediate, centred on Antarctic coasts but extending somewhat northwards from there. In external morphology , these apparently still resemble the common ancestor of
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#17327728478687130-475: The chicks. The warrah preyed on the penguin prior to its extinction. Its major predator, however, is the puma , which can also take adults; penguins constitute the majority of prey items in puma diet in Patagonia's Bosques Petrificados de Jaramillo National Park and Monte León National Park . Human interactions can also cause stress to penguin chicks. Newly hatched chicks that are visited by tourists show
7245-577: The culling of individual problem animals, which has been found effective (although requiring a large amount of management effort) in trials. Established in 1968, SANCCOB is currently the only organisation mandated by the South African government to respond to crises involving seabirds along South Africa's coastline and is internationally recognised for the role it played during the MV Treasure oil spill. A modelling exercise conducted in 2003 by
7360-507: The day while the parents forage. The chicks are frequently killed by predators or succumb to the hot sun. Parents usually feed hatchlings during dusk or dawn. In 2015, when foraging conditions were favourable, more male than female African penguin chicks were produced in the colony on Bird Island. Male chicks also had higher growth rates and fledging mass and therefore may have higher post-fledging survival than females. This, coupled with higher adult female mortality in this species, may result in
7475-517: The emergence of another morphotype in the same area, the similarly sized but more gracile Palaeospheniscinae , as well as the radiation that gave rise to the current biodiversity of penguins. Modern penguins constitute two undisputed clades and another two more basal genera with more ambiguous relationships. To help resolve the evolution of this order , 19 high-coverage genomes that, together with two previously published genomes, encompass all extant penguin species have been sequenced. The origin of
7590-600: The end of the Paleogene , around 25 mya. Their decline and disappearance coincided with the spread of the Squalodontidae and other primitive, fish-eating toothed whales , which competed with them for food and were ultimately more successful. A new lineage, the Paraptenodytes , which includes smaller and stout-legged forms, had already arisen in southernmost South America by that time. The early Neogene saw
7705-402: The exception is the little penguin, which can raise two or three broods in a season. Penguin eggs are smaller than any other bird species when compared proportionally to the weight of the parent birds; at 52 g (2 oz), the little penguin egg is 4.7% of its mothers' weight, and the 450 g (1 lb) emperor penguin egg is 2.3%. The relatively thick shell forms between 10 and 16% of
7820-607: The exposure of penguins of Dassen Island to the oil slick from the Castillo de Bellver was also a topic of concern given the penguins' conservation status at the time, but owing to the prevailing wind and current, only gannets were oiled. African penguin casualties were significant following the sinking of the MV Apollo Sea and a subsequent oil slick in 1994. 10,000 penguins were collected and cleaned, of which less than half survived. Disaster struck on 23 June 2000, when
7935-475: The extreme cold of the Antarctic winter, the females are at sea fishing for food, leaving the males to brave the weather by themselves. They often huddle together to keep warm and rotate positions to make sure that each penguin gets a turn in the centre of the heat pack. Calculations of the heat loss and retention ability of marine endotherms suggest that most extant penguins are too small to survive in such cold environments. In 2007, Thomas and Fordyce wrote about
8050-472: The extreme cold. They can drink salt water because their supraorbital gland filters excess salt from the bloodstream. The salt is excreted in a concentrated fluid from the nasal passages. The great auk of the Northern Hemisphere, now extinct, was superficially similar to penguins, and the word penguin was originally used for that bird centuries ago. They are only distantly related to
8165-412: The eyes and a black facial mask. The body's upper parts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts, which are spotted and marked with a black band. The African penguin is a pursuit diver and feeds primarily on fish and squid. Once extremely numerous, the African penguin is now the rarest species of penguin classified as critically endangered , with its population declining rapidly due to
8280-414: The eyes cool the birds' blood and as the temperature rises, increased blood flow causes the glands to get pinker. This species exhibits slight sexual dimorphism ; the males are slightly larger than the females and have longer beaks. Juveniles do not possess the bold, delineated markings of the adult, but instead have dark upperparts that vary from greyish-blue to brown; the pale underparts lack both spots and
8395-442: The fairy penguin, which stands around 30–33 cm (12–13 in) tall and weighs 1.2–1.3 kg (2.6–2.9 lb). Today, larger penguins generally inhabit colder regions, and smaller penguins inhabit regions with temperate or tropical climates . Some prehistoric penguin species were enormous: as tall or heavy as an adult human. There was a great diversity of species in subantarctic regions, and at least one giant species in
8510-400: The family of the auks (Alcidae), within the order of the Charadriiformes . The birds currently known as penguins were discovered later and were so named by sailors because of their physical resemblance to the great auk. Despite this resemblance, however, they are not auks, and are not closely related to the great auk. They do not belong in the genus Pinguinus , and are not classified in
8625-790: The family. In Europe , the breeding programme EAZA is regulated by Artis Royal Zoo in the Netherlands , whilst in the United States the SSP programme is cooperatively managed by the AZA . The idea is to create a backup captive population, as well as to aid in the conservation of the population in its natural habitat. Between 2010 and 2013, American zoos spent $ 300,000 on in situ (wild population) conservation. Penguin For prehistoric genera, see List of penguins#Fossil genera Penguins are
8740-539: The first egg. The first one is more likely to survive, but under some conditions both chicks may be raised successfully. Male and female Magellanic penguins overlap in the at-sea areas they use whilst foraging, and show only small difference in foraging behaviours during early chick-rearing. Magellanic penguins mate with the same partner year after year. The male reclaims his burrow from the previous year and waits to reconnect with his female partner. The females are able to recognize their mates through their call alone. Once
8855-579: The hot sun and abandoned eggs never survive the heat. The eggs are three to four times bigger than chicken eggs. Ideally, the eggs are incubated in a burrow dug into the guano layer (which provides suitable temperature regulation), but the widespread human removal of guano deposits has rendered this type of nest unfeasible in many colonies. To compensate, penguins burrow holes in the sand, nest under rocks or bushes or make use of nest boxes if they are provided. The penguins spend three weeks on land caring for their offspring, after which chicks may be left alone during
8970-709: The iron ore tanker MV Treasure sank between Robben Island and Dassen Island , South Africa. It released 400–1,000 tonnes (390–980 long tons; 440–1,100 short tons) of fuel oil, causing an unprecedented coastal bird crisis and oiling 19,000 adult penguins at the height of the best breeding season on record for this vulnerable species. The oiled birds were brought to an abandoned train repair warehouse in Cape Town to be cared for. An additional 19,500 un-oiled penguins were removed from Dassen Island and other areas before they became oiled and were released about 800 kilometres east of Cape Town. This gave workers enough time to clean up
9085-416: The late 1950s, some French chefs expressed interest in recipes including African penguin eggs collected from the islands off the west coast of South Africa and placed annual orders for small quantities. In the mid-1960s, eggs were collected in the thousands and sold by the dozen, with each customer limited to two dozen eggs in total. The practice of collecting African penguin eggs involved smashing those found
9200-720: The loud penguin noises they make. The African penguin is only found on the southwestern coast of Africa, living in colonies on 24 islands between Namibia and Algoa Bay , near Port Elizabeth , South Africa. It is the only penguin species that breeds in Africa and its presence gave name to the Penguin Islands . Two colonies were established by penguins in the 1980s on the mainland near Cape Town, namely Boulders Beach near Simon's Town and Stony Point in Betty's Bay . Mainland colonies likely became possible only in recent times due to
9315-414: The main feathers and were once believed to account for the bird's ability to conserve heat when under water; the plumules are small down feathers that attach directly to the skin, and are much more dense in penguins than other birds; lastly the filoplumes are small (less than 1 cm long) naked shafts that end in a splay of fibers— filoplumes were believed to give flying birds a sense of where their plumage
9430-447: The marked decline of sardines in the waters near its habitat, African penguins' diet has shifted towards anchovies to some extent, although available sardine biomass is still a notable determinant of penguin population development and breeding success. While a diet of anchovies appears to be generally sufficient for the penguins, it is not ideal due to anchovies' lower concentrations of fat and protein. The Penguin's diet changes throughout
9545-607: The most part breed in large colonies, the exceptions being the yellow-eyed and Fiordland species; these colonies may range in size from as few as 100 pairs for gentoo penguins to several hundred thousand in the case of king, macaroni and chinstrap penguins. Living in colonies results in a high level of social interaction between birds, which has led to a large repertoire of visual as well as vocal displays in all penguin species. Agonistic displays are those intended to confront or drive off, or alternately appease and avoid conflict with, other individuals. Penguins form monogamous pairs for
9660-400: The next one to nearly two years. They then return to their natal colony to moult into adult plumage. When penguins moult , they are unable to forage in the sea as their new feathers are not yet waterproof; therefore, they fast over the entire moulting period. African penguins typically take around three weeks to moult and lose about half of their body weight by burning up their fat reserves in
9775-570: The oiled waters and shores before the birds could complete their long swim home (which took the penguins between one and three weeks). Some of the penguins were named and radio-tracked as they swam back to their breeding grounds. Tens of thousands of volunteers helped with the rescue and rehabilitation process, which was overseen by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the South African Foundation for
9890-689: The open sea, where they feed on pelagic fish such as sardines (including the blue pilchard ), Cape horse mackerels , red-eye round herrings and anchovies (specifically the European anchovy and the Southern African anchovy ) and marine invertebrates such as squids and small crustaceans , primarily krills and shrimps . Penguins normally swim within 20 km (12 mi) of the shore. A penguin may consume up to 540 grams (1.19 lb) of prey every day, but this may increase to over 1 kg (2.2 lb) when raising older chicks. Due to
10005-652: The palaeeudyptines constitute a monophyletic lineage, or whether gigantism was evolved independently in a restricted Palaeeudyptinae and the Anthropornithinae – whether they were considered valid, or whether there was a wide size range present in the Palaeeudyptinae as delimited (i.e., including Anthropornis nordenskjoeldi ). The oldest well-described giant penguin, the 5-foot (1.5 m)-tall Icadyptes salasi , existed as far north as northern Peru about 36 mya. Gigantic penguins had disappeared by
10120-473: The penguin-like plotopterids (usually considered relatives of cormorants and anhingas ) may actually be a sister group of the penguins and those penguins may have ultimately shared a common ancestor with the Pelecaniformes and consequently would have to be included in that order, or that the plotopterids were not as close to other pelecaniforms as generally assumed, which would necessitate splitting
10235-424: The penguins and their chicks. Mortality from terrestrial predators is higher if penguins are forced to breed in the open in the absence of suitable burrows or nest boxes. African penguin eggs were considered a delicacy and were still being eaten and collected for sale as recently as the 1970s. In the 1950s, they were being collected from Dassen Island and sold in nearby towns. In 1953, 12,000 eggs were collected. In
10350-449: The penguins are swimming an extra 80 km (50 miles), their mates are sitting on a nest, unable to feed. A colony being tracked by University of Washington professor P. Dee Boersma , about 1,600 km (1,000 miles) south of Buenos Aires , has fallen by more than 20 percent in the past 22 years, leaving 200,000 breeding pairs. Some younger penguins are now moving their breeding colonies north to be closer to fish, but, in some cases, this
10465-408: The penguins, but are an example of convergent evolution . Around one in 50,000 penguins (of most species) are born with brown rather than black plumage. These are called isabelline penguins. Isabellinism is different from albinism. Isabelline penguins tend to live shorter lives than normal penguins, as they are not well-camouflaged against the deep and are often passed over as mates. Penguins for
10580-594: The penguins, puffins have a white chest, black back and short stubby wings providing excellent swimming ability in icy water. But, unlike penguins, puffins can fly, as flightless birds would not survive alongside land-based predators such as polar bears and foxes; there are no such predators in the Antarctic. Their similarities indicate that similar environments, although at great distances, can result in similar evolutionary developments, i.e. convergent evolution . Penguins are superbly adapted to aquatic life. Their wings have evolved to become flippers, useless for flight in
10695-400: The placement of the penguins in the avian phylogeny is presently resolved, this is confusing, so the established Linnean system is followed here. The number of penguin species is typically listed as between seventeen and nineteen. The International Ornithologists' Union recognizes six genera and eighteen species: Although the evolutionary and biogeographic history of Sphenisciformes
10810-471: The process. African penguins spend most of their lives at sea until it comes time for them to lay their eggs. Females remain fertile for about 10 years. Due to high predation on the mainland, African penguins will seek protection on offshore islands, where they are safer from larger mammals and natural challenges. These penguins usually breed during the winter when temperatures are cooler. African penguins often will abandon their eggs if they become overheated in
10925-513: The reduction of predator numbers, although the Betty's Bay colony has been attacked by leopards . The only other mainland colony is in Namibia, but it is not known when it was established. Boulders Beach is a tourist attraction due to the beach, swimming and the penguins. The penguins will allow people to approach them as close as a meter. Breeding populations of African penguins are being kept in numerous zoos worldwide. No colonies are known outside
11040-627: The rehabilitated penguin deaths annually. Small-scale oil spills (of less than 400 litres (110 US gal)) have occurred at the Port of Ngqura since bunkering activities started there in 2016. Bunkering is a ship refuelling process that can result in oil spills and oil slicks entering the water. Hundreds of African penguins have been harmed following these spills due to the port's close proximity to penguin rookeries on St. Croix Island and seabird habitat on neighbouring Jahleel and Brenton Islands. Commercial fisheries of sardines and anchovy ,
11155-479: The reproductive failure in Magellanic penguins. In 2008, over 400 penguins were found dead on Rio de Janeiro beaches. That year, 100 had also been received by the Niteroi Zoo in an oiled condition and in need of treatment. In 2010, 550 penguins were found on Brazil's coastline. They were believed to have starved to death. In June 2012, higher numbers were recorded, with 742 Magellanic penguins discovered in
11270-425: The salt from their bodies. Adult penguins can regularly dive to depths of 20 to 50 m (66 to 164 ft) deep in order to forage for prey. During the breeding season males and females have similar foraging and diving patterns as well as diet composition, however bone tissue analysis suggests that diets diverge post-season when limitations imposed by chick rearing are removed. Magellanic penguins do not experience
11385-518: The same family and order as the great auk. They were classified in 1831 by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in several distinct genera within the family Spheniscidae and order Sphenisciformes . The family name of Spheniscidae was given by Charles Lucien Bonaparte from the genus Spheniscus , the name of that genus comes from the Greek word σφήν sphēn " wedge " used for the shape of an African penguin 's swimming flippers. Some recent sources apply
11500-472: The sand under boulders or bushes. Incubation is undertaken equally by both parents for around 40 days. At least one parent guards the chicks for about one month, whereafter the chicks join a crèche with other chicks and both parents spend most of the day foraging in the sea. Chicks fledge at 60 to 130 days, the timing depending on environmental factors such as the quality and availability of food. The fledged chicks then go to sea on their own, where they spend
11615-478: The shores of Uruguay. According to Uruguayan authorities, 90% of these were juveniles without fat reserves and with empty stomachs. All carcasses tested negative for avian influenza . Other dead seabirds, sea turtles and sea lions were found on the coast of the Maldonado Department . The provincial government of Chubut is committed to the creation of a marine protected area in order to protect
11730-461: The southwestern coast of Africa, although vagrants (mostly juveniles) may occasionally be sighted beyond the normal range. Roughly 4 million African penguins existed at the beginning of the 19th century. Of the 1.5 million African penguins estimated in 1910, only some 10% remained at the end of the 20th century. African penguin populations, which breed in Namibia and South Africa, have declined by 95% since pre-industrial times. Today, their breeding
11845-544: The strong adaptive autapomorphies of the Sphenisciformes; a sometimes perceived fairly close relationship between penguins and grebes is almost certainly an error based on both groups' strong diving adaptations, which are homoplasies . On the other hand, different DNA sequence datasets do not agree in detail with each other either. What seems clear is that penguins belong to a clade of Neoaves (living birds except for paleognaths and fowl ) that comprises what
11960-641: The surface in dives that normally last only one or two minutes. Larger penguins can dive deep in case of need. Emperor penguins are the world's deepest-diving birds. They can dive to depths of approximately 550 meters (1,800 feet) while searching for food. Penguins either waddle on their feet or slide on their bellies across the snow while using their feet to propel and steer themselves, a movement called "tobogganing", which conserves energy while moving quickly. They also jump with both feet together if they want to move more quickly or cross steep or rocky terrain. Penguins have an average sense of hearing for birds; this
12075-518: The total African penguin population was estimated at 55,000. At the rate of decline seen from 2000 to 2010, the African penguin is expected to be extinct in the wild by 2026. In 2012, about 18,700 breeding pairs were estimated to live in South Africa, with the majority on St. Croix Island in Algoa Bay . The total breeding population across both South Africa and Namibia fell to a historic low of about 20,850 pairs in 2019. African penguins forage in
12190-556: The traditional Pelecaniformes into three. A 2014 analysis of whole genomes of 48 representative bird species has concluded that penguins are the sister group of Procellariiformes, from which they diverged about 60 million years ago (95% CI, 56.8–62.7). The distantly related Puffins , which live in the North Pacific and North Atlantic, developed similar characteristics to survive in the Arctic and sub-Arctic environments. Like
12305-422: The two main prey species of the penguins, have forced these penguins to search for prey farther offshore, as well as having to switch to eating less nutritious prey. Restricting commercial fishing near colony sites such as Robben Island for short periods (3 years) was shown to markedly improve penguin breeding success. Longer closure periods and closures near other colonies are being evaluated. The African penguin
12420-660: The vicinity assist the defending mother in keeping her chick. In some species, such as emperor and king penguins, the chicks assemble in large groups called crèches . Magellanic penguin The Magellanic penguin ( Spheniscus magellanicus ) is a South American penguin , breeding in coastal Patagonia , including Argentina , Chile , and the Falkland Islands , with some migrating to Brazil and Uruguay , where they are occasionally seen as far north as Espírito Santo . Vagrants have been found in El Salvador ,
12535-491: The weight of a penguin egg, presumably to reduce the effects of dehydration and to minimize the risk of breakage in an adverse nesting environment. The yolk, too, is large and comprises 22–31% of the egg. Some yolk often remains when a chick is born, and is thought to help sustain the chick if the parents are delayed in returning with food. When emperor penguin mothers lose a chick, they sometimes attempt to "steal" another mother's chick, usually unsuccessfully as other females in
12650-548: The year; as in many seabirds, it is believed that the interaction of diet choice and breeding success helps the penguins maintain their population size. Although parent penguins are protective of their chicks, they will not incur nutritional deficits themselves if food is scarce and hunting requires a greater time or energy commitment. This may lead to higher rates of brood loss under poor food conditions. When foraging, African penguins carry out dives that reach an average depth of 25 m (82 ft) and last for 69 seconds, although
12765-417: Was and whether or not it needed preening, so their presence in penguins may seem inconsistent, but penguins also preen extensively. The emperor penguin has the largest body mass of all penguins, which further reduces relative surface area and heat loss. They also are able to control blood flow to their extremities, reducing the amount of blood that gets cold, but still keeping the extremities from freezing. In
12880-645: Was dated to 42 mya. An unnamed fossil from Argentina proves that, by the Bartonian (Middle Eocene), some 39–38 mya, primitive penguins had spread to South America and were in the process of expanding into Atlantic waters. During the Late Eocene and the Early Oligocene (40–30 mya), some lineages of gigantic penguins existed. Nordenskjoeld's giant penguin was the tallest, growing nearly 1.80 meters (5.9 feet) tall. The New Zealand giant penguin
12995-770: Was ended by the Middle Miocene Climate Transition , a sharp drop in global average temperature from 14 to 12 mya, and similar abrupt cooling events followed at 8 mya and 4 mya; by the end of the Tortonian, the Antarctic ice sheet was already much like today in volume and extent. The emergence of most of today's Subantarctic penguin species almost certainly was caused by this sequence of Neogene climate shifts. Penguin ancestry beyond Waimanu remains unknown and not well-resolved by molecular or morphological analyses. The latter tend to be confounded by
13110-613: Was opened by then- Department of Tourism minister Derek Hanekom and will serve as a hub for seabird research carried out by the Dyer Island Conservation Trust. The centre will also run local education projects, host international marine volunteers and seek to improve seabird handling techniques and rehabilitation protocols. African penguins are a commonly seen species in zoos across the world. Because they do not require particularly low temperatures, they are often kept in outside enclosures. They adapt fairly well to this captive environment and are rather easy to breed compared to other species of
13225-606: Was probably the heaviest, weighing 80 kilograms (180 lb) or more. Both were found on New Zealand, the former also in the Antarctic farther eastwards. Traditionally, most extinct species of penguins, giant or small, had been placed in the paraphyletic subfamily called Palaeeudyptinae . More recently, with new taxa being discovered and placed in the phylogeny if possible, it is becoming accepted that there were at least two major extinct lineages. One or two closely related ones occurred in Patagonia , and at least one other—which
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