penguin
Sign in to savePenguins are a group of flightless semi-aquatic sea birds which live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galapagos penguin, lives at, and slightly 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 a spiny tongue and powerful jaws to grip slippery prey.
AI overview
Penguins are flightless birds that live almost entirely in the Southern Hemisphere and are specially adapted for ocean life, with dark and white coloring, flippers for swimming, and features like spiny tongues to catch and eat sea creatures. They matter as notable examples of how animals can thrive in marine environments through specialized physical adaptations, and they play a role in ocean food webs by hunting krill, fish, and squid.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Subclass of
- piscivore
- Parent taxon
- Sphenisciformes
- Image
- 00 2304 Eselspinguine in der Antarktis.jpg
Show 8 more facts
- P105
- family
- P3512
- bipedalism
- P462
- orange
Article
20 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Pinguinus
- Systematics and evolution
- Taxonomy
- Evolution
- Basal fossils
- Palaeeudyptines
- Origin and systematics of modern penguins
- Geography
- Relationship to other bird orders
- Anatomy and physiology
- Behaviour
- Breeding
- Distribution and habitat
- Conservation status
- Penguins and humans
- In popular culture
- References
- Bibliography
- External links
Penguins are a group of flightless semi-aquatic sea birds which live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galapagos penguin, lives at, and slightly 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 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 tall and weigh . The smallest penguin species is the little blue penguin (Eudyptula minor), also known as the fairy penguin, which stands around tall and weighs . 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 a region around 2,000 km south of the equator 35 mya, during the Late Eocene, a climate decidedly warmer than today.