GENTOO PENGUIN : SPECIES OF THE DAY

gentoo penguin : SPECIES OF THE DAY

Sphen the gentoo penguin - one half of a world-famous same-sex couple - has died in Australia.

Gentoo Penguin

  • The gentoo penguin is one of three species in the genus Pygoscelis.

Subspecies of Gentoo

There are 4 subspecies recognized by the International Ornithological Congress:

  1. p. taeniata (eastern gentoo penguin): Crozet Islands, Prince Edward Islands, Kerguelen Islands, Heard Island, and Macquarie Island
  2. p. papua (northern gentoo penguin): Falkland Islands, Martillo Island in the Beagle Channel, and Isla de los Estados (Argentina)
  3. p. ellsworthi (southern gentoo penguin): the Antarctic Peninsula, the South Orkney Islands, South Shetland Islands and South Sandwich Islands
  4. p. poncetii (South Georgia gentoo penguin): South Georgia Island

Description

  • The gentoo penguin is easily recognised by the wide, white stripe extending like a bonnet across the top of its head and its bright orange-red bill.
  • It has pale whitish-pink, webbed feet and a fairly long tail – the most prominent tail of all penguin species.
  • Chicks have grey backs with white fronts.
  • As the gentoo penguin waddles along on land, its tail sticks out behind, sweeping from side to side, hence the scientific name Pygoscelis, which means "rump-tailed".

Diet

  • Gentoos mainly live on fish, crustaceans such as krill and shrimp, and cephalopods.
  • Gentoos are opportunistic feeders.

Note: Opportunistic organisms commonly refer to animals and plants that tolerate variable environmental conditions and food sources. Some opportunistic species can thrive on almost any available nutrient source: omnivorous rats, bears, and raccoons are all opportunistic feeders.

Physiology

  • The gentoos' diet is high in salt, as they eat organisms with relatively the same salinity as seawater, which can lead to complications associated with high sodium concentrations in the body, especially for gentoo chicks.
  • To counteract this, gentoos, as well as many other marine bird species, have a highly developed salt gland located above their eyes that takes the high concentration of sodium within the body and produces a highly saline-concentrated solution that drips out of the body from the tip of the beak.

Conservation status

  • The population of Pygoscelis papua in the maritime Antarctic is rapidly increasing.
  • Due to regional climate changes, they colonise previously inaccessible territories southwards.
  • Gentoos are Near Threatened as listed on the IUCN Red List.
  • Many threats to this species, including pollution, hunting, fishing and human recreational activities continue to affect them.