Crested penguin
Crested penguin Temporal range: Miocene to present
| |
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Macaroni penguin, Eudyptes chrysolophus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Sphenisciformes |
Family: | Spheniscidae |
Genus: | Eudyptes Vieillot, 1816 |
Type species | |
Aptenodytes chrysocome[1] | |
Species | |
Eudyptes chrysocome |
Eudyptes is a
Taxonomy
The genus Eudyptes was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816;[3] the name is derived from the Ancient Greek words eu meaning "fine", and dyptes meaning "diver".[4] The type species was designated as the southern rockhopper penguin by George Robert Gray in 1840.[5][6]
Six extant species have been classically recognised, with the recent splitting of the rockhopper penguin increasing it to seven. Conversely, the close relationship of the macaroni and royal penguins, and the erect-crested and Snares penguins have led some to propose that the two pairs should be regarded as species.[7]
Order
- Family Spheniscidae
- Fiordland penguin, Eudyptes pachyrhynchus
- Snares penguin, Eudyptes robustus – has been considered a subspecies of the Fiordland penguin
- Erect-crested penguin, Eudyptes sclateri
- Southern rockhopper penguin, Eudyptes chrysocome
- Eastern rockhopper penguin, Eudyptes (chrysocome) filholi
- Western rockhopper penguin, Eudyptes (chrysocome) chrysocome
- Northern rockhopper penguin, Eudyptes moseleyi – traditionally considered a subspecies of Eudyptes chrysocome as the rockhopper penguin.
- morphof E. chrysolophus
- Macaroni penguin, Eudyptes chrysolophus
- extinct)
The
Evolution
Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA evidence suggests that the crested penguins split from the ancestors of their closest living relative, the yellow-eyed penguin, in the mid-Miocene around 15 million years ago, before splitting into separate species around 8 million years ago in the late Miocene.[8]
A
Extant Species
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fiordland penguin | Eudyptes pachyrhynchus G. R. Gray, 1845 |
New Zealand. |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
NT
|
Snares penguin | Eudyptes robustus Oliver, 1953 |
New Zealand. |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
VU
|
Erect-crested penguin | Eudyptes sclateri (Buller, 1888) |
New Zealand, Bounty and Antipodes Islands. |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
EN
|
Southern rockhopper penguin | Eudyptes chrysocome (Forster, JR, 1781) Two subspecies
|
Kerguelen Islands and subantarctic islands of New Zealand, Cape Horn to the Falkland Islands |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
VU
|
Northern rockhopper penguin | Eudyptes moseleyi Mathews & Iredale, 1921 |
southern Indian and Atlantic Oceans |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
EN
|
Royal penguin | Eudyptes schlegeli Finsch, 1876 |
sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island and adjacent islands. |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Macaroni penguin | Eudyptes chrysolophus (Brandt, 1837) |
Subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Description
The crested penguins are all similar in appearance, having sharply delineated black and white plumage with red beaks and prominent yellow crests. Their calls are more complex than those of other species, with several phrases of differing lengths.[9] The royal penguin (mostly) has a white face, while other species have black faces.
Breeding
Crested penguins breed on Subantarctic islands in the southern reaches of the world's oceans; the greatest diversity occurring around New Zealand and surrounding islands. Their breeding displays and behaviours are generally more complex than other penguin species.
Crested penguins lay two eggs, but almost always raise only one young successfully. All species exhibit the odd phenomenon of egg-size dimorphism in breeding; the first egg (or A-egg) laid is substantially smaller than the second egg (B-egg). This is most extreme in the macaroni penguin, where the first egg averages only 60% the size of the second.[12] The reason for this is a mystery remains unknown, although several theories have been proposed. British ornithologist David Lack theorized that the genus was evolving toward the laying of a one-egg clutch.[13] Experiments with egg substitution have shown that A-eggs can produce viable chicks that were only 7% lighter at time of fledging.[14] Physiologically, the first egg is smaller because it develops while the mother is still at sea swimming and thus has less energy to invest in the egg.[15]
Recently, brooding royal and erect-crested penguins have been reported[by whom?] to tip the smaller eggs out as the second is laid.
References
- ^ Gray, George Robert (1840). A List of the Genera of Birds : with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus. London: R. and J.E. Taylor. p. 77.
- ^ "ITIS Standard Report Page: Eudyptes".
- ^ Vieillot, Louis Pierre (1816). Analyse d'une Nouvelle Ornithologie Élémentaire (in French). Paris: Deterville/self. pp. 67, 70. The genus name is misspelled as Endyptes on page 67.
- ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Gray, George Robert (1840). A List of the Genera of Birds : with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus. London: R. and J.E. Taylor. p. 77.
- ^ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 126.
- ISBN 978-0-643-06511-6.
- PMID 16519228.
- ^ Williams (The Penguins) p. 69
- ^ Williams (The Penguins) p. 52
- ^ Williams (The Penguins) p. 76
- ^ Williams (The Penguins) p. 38
- ^ Lack, David (1968). Ecological Adaptations for breeding in birds. London: Methuen.
- JSTOR 3545145.
- National Geographic. Archived from the originalon October 6, 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
Cited text
- Williams, Tony D (1995). The Penguins. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-854667-X.
- Cole, Theresa L.; Ksepka, Daniel T.; Mitchell, Kieren J.; Tennyson, Alan J. D.; Thomas, Daniel B.; Pan, Hailin; Zhang, Guojie; Rawlence, Nicolas J.; Wood, Jamie R.; Bover, Pere; Bouzat, Juan L.; Cooper, Alan; Fiddamanl, Steven; Hart, Tom; Miller, Gary; Ryan, Peter G.; Shepherd, Lara D.; Wilmshurst, Janet M.; Waters, Jonathan M. (2019). "Mitogenomes uncover extinct penguin taxa and reveal island formation as a key driver of speciation". Molecular Biology and Evolution. doi:10.1093/molbev/msz017.