Penguins

PENGUINS
PENGUINS

Penguins are a group of aaquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguinshave counter shaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have evolved into flippers. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid, and other forms of sea life caught while swimming underwater. Theyspend about half of their lives on land and half in the oceans.
Although all penguin species are native to the southern hemisphere, they are not found only in cold climates, such as Antarctica. Infact, only a few species of penguin live so far south. Several species are found in the temperate zone, and one species, the Galapagos, lives near the equator.
The largest living species is the EmperorPenguin (Aptenodytes forester): on average adults are about 1.1 m (3 ft. 7 in) tall and weigh 35 kg (75 lb.) or more. The smallest penguin species is the Little Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor), alsoknown as the Fairy Penguin, which stands around 40 cm tall (16 in) and weighs 1 kg (2.2 lb.). Among extant penguins, larger penguins inhabit colder regions, while smaller penguins are generally found intemperate or even tropical climates (see also Bergmann's Rule). Some prehistoric species attained enormous sizes, becoming as tall or as heavy as an adult human. These were not restricted to Antarcticregions; on the contrary, subantarcticregions harbored high diversity, and at least one giant penguin occurred in a region not quite 2,000 km south of the equator 35 may, in a climate decidedlywarmer than today.

ETYMOLOGY
ETYMOLOGY

The word "Penguin" first appears in the 16th century as a synonym for Great Auk. It may be derived from the Welsh pen gwyn "white head", although the etymologyis debated. When European explorers discovered what are today known as penguins in the Southern Hemisphere, they noticed theirsimilar appearance to the Great Auk of the northern hemisphere, and...