African penguins

African penguins
	African penguins ( Spheniscus demersus )
Systematics
Row :	Land vertebrates (Tetrapoda)
Class :	Birds (aves)
Order :	Penguins (Sphenisciformes)
Family :	Penguins (Spheniscidae)
Genre :	African penguins
Scientific name
	Spheniscus
	Möhring , 1758

African penguins at Stony Point in Betty's Bay

The African penguins ( Spheniscus ) are a genus of birds within the penguin family (Spheniscidae). They form a very homogeneous genus, which is presumably of very recent origin. With the Galápagos penguin, this genus is the only penguin species that breeds in the northern hemisphere. The Humboldt penguin, which also belongs to this genus, was originally extremely common. In recent times, however, there has been a sharp decline in stocks due to overfishing of its main food, the anchovies , as well as guano mining and the destruction of its breeding opportunities.

features

The four species are characterized by black stripes on the flanks, a characteristic black and white head pattern and bare skin on the head. The smallest species is the Galápagos penguin, which reaches a body length of 55 centimeters. Humboldt penguins and magellanic penguins each reach a body length of 70 centimeters. The African penguin is slightly smaller with a body length of 65 centimeters. All species breed in caves. The incubation period is between 37 and 43 days.

Because the Galápagos Islands are on the equator, the Galápagos penguins from Isabela Island are the only species of penguin that also breed in the northern hemisphere. This makes them the furthest north living penguins. The birds stay with their colonies all year round, breeding season and moulting are usually very variable and quite independent of the season. Little penguins and the young of the African penguins look very similar, a finding that is taken as an indication of the close relationship between the two genera.

species

There are four types of African penguins:

African penguin ( S. demersus )
Humboldt penguin ( S. humboldti )
Galápagos penguin ( S. mendiculus )
Magellanic penguin ( S. magellanicus ).

Trivia

The Humboldt penguin was first described scientifically in 1834 by Franz Julius Ferdinand Meyen . With the specific epithet humboldi , Meyen honored the penguin, its first discoverer, Alexander von Humboldt , who is said to have observed this species in the area around Callao in today's Peru during his trip to America from 1799-1804 .

Web links

Commons : African Penguins - Collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

W. Grummt , H. Strehlow (Ed.): Zoo animal keeping birds. Verlag Harri Deutsch, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-8171-1636-2 .

Single receipts

↑ W. Grummt, H. Strehlow (Ed.): Zoo animal keeping birds . Verlag Harri Deutsch, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-8171-1636-2 , p. 61.
↑ Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins: Whose Bird? Men and Women Commemorated in the Common Names of Birds . Christopher Helm, London 2003, ISBN 0-7136-6647-1 , pp. 205 .

[1] W. Grummt, H. Strehlow (Ed.): Zoo animal keeping birds . Verlag Harri Deutsch, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-8171-1636-2 , p. 61.

[2] Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins: Whose Bird? Men and Women Commemorated in the Common Names of Birds . Christopher Helm, London 2003, ISBN 0-7136-6647-1 , pp. 205 .