In particular, detailed photos of the dorsal fin can normally be used to distinguish individual killer whales from one another — much like a fingerprint.. After another pleasant dinner and perhaps our last real sunset for the next couple of weeks because we will be so far south during summer in the southern hemisphere , Krystyana retired early because of queasiness, and Linda, Bas, and I went to the observation lounge atop the Explorer for tea, a Grand Marnier for me , and a game of Five Crowns I won, for a change.
Just before 9pm we crossed 60 degrees south latitude, the geopolitical demarcation for the Antarctic. We had finally arrived! Sleep was a bit restless due to less consumption of brain numbing seasickness medication than the night before and therefore we had a greater perception of creakiness in our cabin as we chugged through the seas, but we understand that we will probably be too filled with adrenaline rushes from the scenery and wildlife in the coming days to sleep much, and when we do, it will be the sleep of exhaustion that creaking sounds will not easily penetrate. The first iceberg we have seen since entering Antarctic waters - side view.
The real first iceberg of the trip was spotted at 5am, however, and the one announced to us was in fact the second one.
Penguins | Smithsonian Ocean
After breakfast we had our first whale sighting of the day — a small pod of southern bottlenose whales, according to Stephanie, our marine mammal expert. These are apparently very rare, and, alas, they were too far away to get any decent pictures. However we did happen to pass, at about the same time, a flock of chinstrap penguins as they were roaming the open ocean for food. The ones we saw leaping out of the water had full bellies, so hunting must be good. A small group of chinstrap penguins in the open ocean, leaping out of the sea as we pass by. Among the interesting things we learned was the geographical range of penguins most in the sub-Antarctic region, but ranging up to the equator — i.
The latter information was provided in a survival handbook for the Australian Antarctic Research Mission, which Peter had worked for a while back. Not information we are likely to need, hopefully, but interesting nonetheless. Ultimately, we were told we should expect to see about a half dozen penguin species on our three week voyage. It turns out that nearly a billion years ago, the Antarctic land mass was in the position that Alaska is in now, and plate movements gradually have put it at the southern end of our globe, or at least as we measure south now.
Magnetic poles have switched every , years or so, so calling something south or north appears to be a bit ephemeral in the grand long-term view of things. That feature of planetary magnetism also interrelates with the ability to date areas near the edges of the tectonic plates to determine movement rates, among other things. Jason also explained various aspect of plate subduction one plate moving below another , earthquakes, and volcanoes, as these are all related as well.
Quite a fascinating presentation! I took Bas up to the bridge after that so he could work on one of the science projects he is working on for this trip, namely gathering regular recordings of meteorological information, including barometric pressure, wind speed and direction and we learned about the Beaufort Scale for wind speed in the process , GPS location, and air and water temperature.
In the case of the Explorer, the bridge is also where lots of people hang out trying to spot critters or icebergs warmer than being outside to do that for hours on end. During our time with the second officer, Yuri, on the bridge there was also a sighting of humpback whales at a distance. I only saw fluke signs or fluke prints — the flat circular patch of water that whales leave behind as their flukes power them into the depths, but Krystyana got a picture of them. Krystyana caught this distant shot of the humpbacks of two humpback whales. After lunch we stayed busy.
First with a presentation on proper sea kayak use by underwater specialist David Cothran, and then a mandatory briefing by our expedition leader Bud Lenhausen on what to do and not to do when in Zodiacs and when on land, as governed by the IAATO — International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators which I mentioned briefly in my post yesterday.
IAATO is a self-governing organization founded in by seven Antarctic tourist charter companies, and now has more than 90 members. In addition to the contour feathers that line the birds entire body and help give it shape, penguins also have after-feathers fluffy, downy bits that cling to the contour feathers , plumules down feathers that attach to the skin , and filoplumes microscopic feathers with barbs on the end.
The individual function of each feather type is still unclear, but plumules are nearly four times more numerous than contour feathers, leading scientists to believe they serve an important purpose. Considering penguins live at varying latitudes it should follow that different species exhibit variations in their feathers.
The banded penguins, such as the Humboldt and African penguins, have featherless patches on their faces and feet where they divert blood to cool when overheated. Although feathers can be fluffed up or flattened down, penguins also use other methods to keep their temperatures at the right level.
When cold, penguins rely on countercurrent exchange to warm up , a specific heat transferring mechanism that exchanges heat from warm blood traveling in vessels towards their legs and feet to colder blood leaving the area. Penguins need to see clearly both on land and underwater. Terrestrial animals, including humans, rely on the cornea—the clear outer layer of the eye—to focus images using a property called refraction , a bending of light as it crosses through different materials. As light travels through the air and enters the eye, it bends to the appropriate angle and creates a focused image on the retina.
Penguins solve this problem with a flattened cornea and highly modified lens. Their flattened corneas have less refractive power than those of terrestrial animals, enabling them to see clearly underwater. Their spherical lenses can compensate for the flatter cornea by also bending the light. When fully constricted the pupil appears as a pin-sized square but in low light conditions it will expand an amazing fold—the greatest change in pupil size of any bird—to increase light reception.
This is especially important when king penguins dive to their greatest depths, around feet meters. The contrast in light is equivalent to bright sunlight and starlight. By constricting the pupil to a pinhole in sunlight the retina is pre-exposed to the lower ambient light levels found at maximum dive depths where the pupil then fully expands. Adapted to underwater conditions, penguins have shifted their visual light spectrum in favor of violet, blue, and green and to exclude red, a color that quickly disappears at depths greater than 10 feet 3 meters.
It is thought that penguins can even see ultraviolet light—emperor and king penguin beaks reflect ultraviolet rays, the only marine birds to do so. The display of ultraviolet could contribute to mate selection with both females and males preferring mates with stronger displays of ultraviolet reflectance. Like other birds, penguin ears lack external ear flaps.
The ears reside on either side of the head as holes covered by feathers. As any SCUBA diver knows, pressure changes from diving can damage the fragile structures within the ear. A study of the king penguin ear showed that their middle ear is protected from pressure changes during diving by a special organ made of cavernous tissue.
When ambient pressure increases the tissue expands into the middle ear to maintain a constant pressure. In the cacophony of hundreds of penguins on land a returning parent can pin point their chick from the rest of the colony based on its unique call. One study of African penguins found their hearing range to be between and 15, Hz, but peak sensitivities were between and 4, Hz—in comparison, humans hear between 20 and 20, Hz. An acute sensitivity to sound may be a defense penguins employ in the face of predators like orcas and leopard seals.
One study showed even when asleep, king penguins could distinguish between predatory sounds and harmless sounds. In the presence of an orca call penguins flee upon awakening. Similar to migratory birds , penguins may rest only one half of their brain while the other stays vigilant, constantly monitoring the surroundings for possible threats. Penguins have poor taste reception, similar to most birds. A recent study showed penguins lack the sweet, bitter and umami taste receptor genes, maintaining only salt and sour. Most birds only lack sweet. It is believed that the cold temperatures of Antarctica, where modern penguins evolved, contributed to the loss of these tastes as sweet, umami and bitter taste receptors function poorly in cold temperatures.
Penguins also lack taste buds on their tongue, leading scientists to question whether penguins can taste at all. The olfactory lobe in the brains of penguins is relatively large. Studies of African, Humboldt and chinstrap penguins indicate some penguins can detect prey using olfactory cues such as chemicals released by foraging krill. The Humboldt penguin uses smell to distinguish between related and unrelated individuals and to find mates. Penguins claim their own family, the Spheniscidae family, and are likely most closely related to other birds like the petrel and albatross.
There is still debate over the number of distinct species, but it is generally agreed that there are between 17 and 19 species see rockhopper and little penguin sections for more information. The species are divided among six genus divisions, or genera, commonly referred to as the crested, banded, brush-tailed, large, yellow-eyed, and little. Macaroni Eudyptes chrysolophus - Macaroni penguins are the most abundant of all the penguins.
The most southerly distributed crested penguin, they live along the coasts of sub-Antarctic islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. The lifespan of a Macaroni penguin spans from 8 to 15 years. Macaroni prefer krill but will also eat small fish and squid. They are roughly Royal Eudyptes schlegeli - The royal penguin differs from other crested penguins in its orange plumage instead of yellow and white face.
Some still argue that it is a white-faced variant of the Macaroni penguin due to genetic similarities but others point to distinct ecological differences and breeding isolation. Chicks take 35 days to hatch and become reproductively mature themselves after 5 to 6 years.
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Individuals can live between 15 and 20 years. They mostly eat krill but supplement their diet with small fish. Royal penguins stand at 28 inches 70 cm and 8. Fiordland Eudyptes pachyrhynchus — Fiordland penguins have the characteristic yellow tufts of feathers like other crested penguins and live along the temperate rainforests of South Island and Stewart Island of New Zealand.
Unlike many penguin species, they prefer to nest isolated from other mating couples. The birds nest under forest canopy, in caves, under boulders and shrubbery, and in nests made of brush and grass. They eat fish larvae, crustaceans and squid. Breeding season begins mid-winter in July and egg incubation ranges between 4 and 6 weeks. Adults stand 22 inches 55 cm at between 5. Rockhopper Eudyptes chrysocome - The rockhopper penguin is further divided into three subspecies, the Northern, Southern and Eastern rockhoppers, and is the source for much of the debate surrounding the total number of penguin species.
They live on small, isolated islands in the sub-Antarctic regions of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Rockhopper nesting grounds are on rugged terrain requiring the penguins to hop from rock to rock, the inspiration for their name. The birds can congregate in colonies containing up to , individuals. Breeding season begins in October, eggs are laid by November and chicks hatch 33 days later. The average rockhopper lives 10 years, but they may live as long as 30 years. They feed on krill, small fish and squid. Rockhopper penguins are the only species to jump feet first into the water when they dive.
They stand at 18 inches 46 cm and weigh 5 to 10 pounds 2. Snares Crested Eudyptes robustus -Snares crested penguins live on the isolated and densely forested Snares Islands, a group of small islands roughly 60 miles km south of New Zealand. They inhabit the most restricted area out of all the penguins and eat squid and small fish. The birds breed under the protection of the Olearia forests in nests of peat, pebbles, and brush beginning in September.
Two eggs are laid a few days apart and hatch between 31 and 37 days later. Snares crested penguins reach sexual maturity at age 6 and may live up to their early 20s. They stand at 22 inches 56 cm and weigh between 6 and 10 pounds 2. Erect-crested Eudyptes sclateri - The erect-crested penguins are best identified by their upright and fanned yellow plumes. Male competition for breeding sites in September is fierce and penguins commonly resort to biting and beating each other with flippers. The diet of erect-crested penguins is not well known, though it is suspected they eat krill, small fish, and squid like other crested penguins.
They stand at 26 inches 67 cm , weigh up to 14 pounds 6. Humboldt Spheniscus humboldti - Native to the hot climate of the Atacama Desert on the coast of South America, Humboldt penguins have large, bare skin patches around their eyes, an adaptation to help keep them cool.
Humboldt penguins dig nests in sand or penguin poop guano where they incubate the eggs for 40 to 42 days. Breeding season is either March to April or September to October depending on the location of the colony. Humboldt penguins rely on the nutrient rich Humboldt Current to support the anchovy and sardine populations they prey upon. The Humboldt is one of the most popular zoo penguins due to its ability to withstand warmer climates. They stand at an average height of Magellanic Spheniscus magellanicus - The Magellanic penguin lives along the southern coast of South America from Argentina on the Atlantic side to Chile in the Pacific.
Their breast plumage consists of two black stripes that differentiate them from the geographically nearby Humboldt penguin.
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Magellanic penguins nest in ground dugouts, when possible, or under brush. Both parents share sitting on the egg for the 39 to 42 day incubation period. During the winter months, between May and August, Magellanic penguins migrate along the coast of Chile, and as far north as Brazil on the East Coast, chasing anchovies.
Adults stand at 28 inches 70 cm and weigh up to roughly 15 pounds 6. African Spheniscus demersus - The African penguin is sometimes referred to as the jackass penguin for its shrill braying that sounds like a donkey. They inhabit the southern shores of Africa from Namibia to South Africa and feed on pilchard, sardines, anchovies, and mackerel.
Their nesting colonies are large and noisy. Each breeding couple lays two eggs in a shallow dugout in the ground. Eggs are incubated between 38 to 40 days by both parents. They have a lifespan between 10 and 15 years. At 23 to 25 inches tall Galapagos Spheniscus mendiculus - Galapagos penguins are the most northerly penguins, living along the Galapagos Islands on the equator. These penguins have special adaptations and behaviors that help them deal with the tropical heat.
Galapagos penguins actively seek out shade, pant, stand with wings spread, and hunch over on land to shade their feet, an area of heat loss. Galapagos penguin breeding is completely dependent upon the Cromwell Current and they may breed during any month of the year depending upon seasonal climate conditions.
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When the Cromwell Current fails to upwell and bring colder, nutrient rich water to the surface, penguins delay breeding presumably because of low food availability. Once the penguins are able to breed, egg incubation is roughly 40 days. The Galapagos are the smallest of the banded penguins at 21 inches 53 cm and weigh up to 5. Chinstrap Pygoscelis antarcticus - Chinstrap penguins are distinguishable by their white face and a thin black band that runs across the chin.
Unlike many other penguin species, the chinstrap usually rears both chicks to adulthood when environmental conditions are favorable.
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Beginning in November, adults incubate the eggs in shallow pebble nests for up to five to six weeks. They prey upon Antarctic krill, Euphasia supurba, almost exclusively but will also eat small fish. At a maximum size of 30 inches 76 and weighing 10 pounds 4. Gentoo Pygoscelis papua - The largest of the brush-tailed penguins, this bird is further distinguished by its red beak.
The gentoo nests on both the Antarctic Peninsula and on sub-Antarctic islands. They construct nests with tussock grass and moss when available but will also use pebbles in rockier environments. Both eggs are incubated for 31 to 39 days. Loyal birds, they not only return to the same nesting site every year but will also form lasting bonds with breeding partners.
Adults subsist on mostly Antarctic krill but will also eat other crustaceans, squid, and fish. Gentoo penguins reach sizes up to 32 inches 81 cm and 15 pounds 6. An ice-dependent species, they rely on the ice for foraging, often trapping prey under ice floes sheets of ice that jigsaw the ocean surface and resting on top of them to avoid predators.
Populations are on the decline on the northern Antarctic Peninsula, where air temperatures significantly increased in the latter half of the 20th century due to climate change. Breeding season begins in October, with eggs hatching after 35 days of incubation. They rely heavily on Antarctic krill but also eat fish, crustaceans, and other krill species.
The birds stand at 27 inches 70 cm and weigh up to 12 pounds 6. Emperor Aptenodytes forsteri - Living exclusively within the Antarctic, emperor penguins are truly animals fit for the extreme. Breeding season begins at the end of March with couples congregating in one of 45 different colonies along the Antarctic sheet ice.
After a quick courtship, females lay a single egg and transfer it to a nest between the feet of the father. Father emperors battle harsh temperature and wind conditions while incubating the egg. They often lose as much as half their body weight during the process. At a maximum size of 51 inches cm and 88 pounds 40 kg they are the largest penguin species. Adult couples can only afford to raise two chicks every three years because of the extensive time needed to rear one chick.
Breeding may begin anywhere from November to April so colonies have a mix of chicks of various ages. King penguins breed on sub-Antarctic islands within the Southern Atlantic. Standing they can reach heights up to 38 inches 95 cm with weights as high as 35 pounds 16 kg. Yellow-Eyed Megadyptes antipodes - Yellow-eyed penguins are the most private of all penguins, preferring to nest out of sight from other penguins.
They often forgo parental duties if they are within eyesight of other nesting couples. For this reason they often nest among the tree trunks of the dwarf rata forests on the islands off of New Zealand where they are native. The breeding season is particularly long, lasting from August to February. Egg incubation alone can take up to two months. They weigh between 5 and 5. Little or Fairy Eudyptula minor — The smallest of the penguins, the little penguin claims the rocky island coasts around New Zealand and Australia as home.
Colonies are usually at the base of sandy dunes or cliffs. They eat mostly small fish, but occasionally will consume krill and small squid. Little penguins live an average of 6. Breeding season begins in August and lasts until December. Chicks take roughly 36 days to hatch and then another 3 to 4 weeks where they depend on their parents for food. Juveniles reach sexual maturity at age three. They weigh in at a mere 2 to 3 pounds. The first penguins evolved roughly 60 million years ago in temperate latitudes around 50 degrees South, close to where New Zealand is now.
An area devoid of land predators, the location lent itself to the survival of flightless birds. While many birds nest in trees or cliffs to protect their chicks from wild mammals, penguins historically have been able to nest on the ground without the threat of large predators. Without the constraints of flight, namely the weight and wing surface area necessary for lift-off, penguins could claim a new domain—the ocean. Penguins are Southern Hemisphere birds, though many people confuse them with the black and white birds of the north, the puffins.
The first bird to go by the name was actually the now extinct great auk which was a black and white flightless bird in the northern Atlantic. The great auk is in no way related to modern penguins, instead claiming membership in the Alcidae family, same as puffins, other auks, and murres. In the s, fishers and whalers slaughtered the flightless great auks by the thousands to supply food aboard ships, and by the species was extinct. Their memory seemed to stick with seamen, for when explorers traveled to the southern seas and encountered new tuxedoed birds they repurposed the name.
Scientists of the early twentieth century believed penguins were a living link between birds and dinosaurs. This belief spurred the famous Worst Journey in the World , a scientific expedition led by Dr. Edward Wilson in that aimed to retrieve emperor penguin eggs for the purpose of studying the embryos. At the time it was still believed that early developmental stages directly reflected attributes of previous ancestral stages; in the case of penguins, reptilian scales in the embryo could be evidence of dinosaur lineages.
This connection has since been disproven, although all birds are indeed now recognized as having evolved from dinosaurs. The earliest known penguins evolved shortly after the demise of the dinosaurs in the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction. Roughly 66 million years ago species from the genus Waimanu lived in the waters off of New Zealand. The two species of Waimanu penguins are currently considered the basal ancestors, meaning they are considered the earliest common ancestor of all penguins.
Flightless like modern penguins, Waimanu penguins still maintained anatomical similarities to flying birds and may have had swimming capabilities similar to a loon or cormorant. Their beaks were long and slender and their legs were slightly larger than the modern penguins. The discovery of these ancient penguins was based on an analysis of four separate specimens from North Canterbury, New Zealand that are some of the best-preserved avian fossils from that era.
It was these specimens that supplied evidence for the theory that penguins split from other birds before the end of the Cretaceous epoch. By 55 million years ago penguins were well adapted to life at sea, and from 40 to 25 million years ago they were the dominant predators of squid, fish, and krill. Not only were there roughly 40 species, more than twice the number today, but they also grew to much larger sizes. Roughly 37 million years ago, the largest of these giant penguins , Palaeeudyptes klekowskii , measured 6 feet 6 inches 2 meters from beak tip to toe and would measure close to the average height of an adult woman at 5 foot 3 inches 1.
Described in by an Argentinian research team, P. Around the same time period—but farther north—the Peruvian giant, Icadyptes salasi , stood at a slightly shorter 5 feet. This giant supported a unique 7 inch beak that is theorized to have been helpful in spearing fish. The discovery of this fossil upended previous conceptions about the equatorial migration of penguins. It was thought that penguins migrated north towards the equator after periods of Earth cooling like that which occurred during the Eocene-Oligocene around 34 million years ago and a later cooling period 15 million years ago.
By 23 million years ago, during the early Miocene, most of the giant penguins had long died off, all except Anthropodyptes gilli. This giant was still thriving in Australia until 18 million years ago. After the fall of the giant penguins, it is believed that the crested penguins, the ancestors of all modern day penguins, radiated from a common Antarctic ancestor.
Genetic analysis of four penguins and recent discovery of penguin fossils indicate a common ancestor as early as 20 million years ago with individual modern species diverging between 11 and 16 million years ago. Scientists still debate the evolutionary origins of modern penguins and this is an ongoing area of research. During breeding season penguins stick close to the colony, but how far a penguin travels to feed varies from species to species. Most penguins will stay within 36 miles 60 km of shore.
After fasting for months while incubating the egg, a male emperor may need an entire month to regain its body fat, possibly traveling up to miles 1, km. Once penguins leave breeding colonies after the breeding season, our understanding of their behavior and ecology drops precipitously. Tags often lose satellite connection mid-migration, possibly due to batteries losing power or tags falling off. But certain case studies reveal that penguins regularly make long migrations to feed in the winter and thus recondition their bodies post-breeding.
Magellanic penguins, native to Argentina and Chile, have been spotted as far north as Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. One study tracked ten Magellanic penguins as they swam up the Argentine coast and recorded traveling distances over 1, miles 1, km from the nest. When total swimming distance was calculated the penguins swam more than 1, miles 2, km. In another study a chinstrap penguin was logged traveling 2, miles 3, km in three weeks in the Southern Atlantic from Bouvetoya to Montagu Island in the South Sandwich Islands, a cluster of islands between Antarctica and Argentina.
Macaroni penguins from the Kerguelen Islands in the Indian Ocean traveled an average of 1, miles 2, km to foraging grounds in the middle of the ocean.