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Penguins are 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 /). [4] They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator.
Penguins entirely lost the constraint of light bones and developed denser, less buoyant bones in their wings for strength and for ballast. [10] Also thought to provide ballast is the swallowing of small stones by penguins. Although heavy ballasting will prevent passive ascent, Beaune et al. surmised that a bird with a mass of 12 kg would need a ...
The physiology of underwater diving is the physiological adaptations to diving of air-breathing vertebrates that have returned to the ocean from terrestrial lineages. They are a diverse group that include sea snakes, sea turtles, the marine iguana, saltwater crocodiles, penguins, pinnipeds, cetaceans, sea otters, manatees and dugongs.
Humboldt penguin swimming. Penguin wings evolved into short, strong flippers causing flightlessness. [1] This green turtle is about to break the surface for air at Kona, Hawaii. A flipper is a broad, flattened limb adapted for aquatic locomotion. It refers to the fully webbed, swimming appendages of aquatic vertebrates that are not fish.
Emperor penguin attacked by a leopard seal Giant petrel and emperor penguin chicks. The emperor penguin's predators include birds and aquatic mammals. Southern giant petrels (Macronectes giganteus) are the predominant land predator of chicks, responsible for over one-third of chick deaths in some colonies; they also scavenge dead penguins.
The diving reflex is exhibited strongly in aquatic mammals, such as seals, [1] [4] otters, dolphins, [5] and muskrats, [6] and exists as a lesser response in other animals, including human babies up to 6 months old (see infant swimming), and diving birds, such as ducks and penguins. [1]
The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), also known as Cape penguin or South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. It is the only penguin found in the Old World. Like all penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat. Adults ...
King penguins primarily feed at the Antarctic Convergence, which provides 80% of their food biomass. [49] King penguins currently travel 300–500 km over the course of over a week to complete the journey. However, ocean warming could easily move these fronts further away from breeding grounds. Continuous ocean warming could cause the ...