Facts and Features of Antarctic Adelie Penguin

Adelie Penguin Information

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Sphenisciformes
Family: Spheniscidae
Genre: Pygoscelis
Scientific name: Pygoscelis
Common name: Adelie Penguin
Group: Poultry
Number of species: 1
Location: Coast of Antarctica
Habitat: Land and the Antarctic
Color: Black with white chest
Skin Type: Feathers
Size (H): 40cm - 75cm (16 inches - 30 inches)
Wingspan: 35cm - 70cm (14 inches - 27.5in)
Weight: 3 kg - 6 kg (7 lbs - 13 lbs)
Maximum speed: 72kph (45 mph)
Diet: Carnivore
Prey: krill, fish, squid
Predators: Leopard Seal, Skua Gull, orca
Lifestyle: Daytime
Group Behavior: Colony
Life Span: 10 - 20 years
Age of sexual maturity: 2 - 3 years
Incubation period: 2 months
Average Clutch Size: 2
Young Name: Chicks
Age Of Fledgling: 90 days
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Estimated Population Size: 5,000,000
Major Threat: rapid melting of ice
Most distinctive feature: small white circle around each eye
Fact: Come up to 2 kg of food per day!

Adelie Penguin Classification and Evolution

The Adelie Penguin is the smallest species and the widest distribution of penguins in the Southern Ocean and is one of only two species of penguins in the Antarctic continent (the other is much larger Emperor Penguin). The Adelie Penguin was named in 1840 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville who named the penguin by his wife, Adelia. Adelie penguins have adapted well to life in Antarctica as migratory birds winter in the northern ice field, before backing south to coast of Antarctica for the summer months.

Adelie Penguin Anatomy and appearance

The Adelie Penguin is most easy to identify penguin having backside  blue-black and the chest and belly pure white. The head and beak of the Adelie Penguin are black in colour and each eye having white ring around it. The feet is pink of  Adelie Penguin are hard and bumpy with nails, which not only help the Adelie Penguin in climbing the rocky cliffs to reach their nesting sites, but also help push along when slide (rowing) along the ice. Adelie penguins also use their webbed feet with their little flippers to propel  along to swim in the cold waters.

Adelie Penguin Distribution and Habitat

The Adelie Penguin is found in south part of  the world, as it is located along the coast of Antarctica and the islands near it. During the winter months, the Adelie penguins migrate north inhabited by large ice and have better access to food. During the summer months, the Adelie penguins returning south where they go to the beaches on the coast in search of ice-free land on the rocky slopes where they can build their nests. More than half a million Adelie penguins have formed one of the largest colonies of animals from around the world on Ross Island, the  island was  formed by the activities of the four monstrous volcanoes in the Ross Sea.

Adelie Penguin  lifestyle 

Like all species of penguins, the Adelie Penguin is a very sociable animals, gathering in large groups called colonies, which often number thousands Penguin. Although Adelie penguins are not known for being terribly territorial, it is not uncommon for adults to become aggressive over nesting sites, and have even been known to steal rocks from the nests of their neighbors. Adélie penguins are also known to hunt in groups, as it is believed to reduce the risk of being devoured by hungry predators. Adelie penguins are constantly interacting with each other, body language and eye-specific movements are thought to be the most common forms of communication.

Adelie penguin breeding and life cycles

Adelie penguins goes back to their breeding grounds in the Antarctic summer months of November and December. Their soft feet are well designed for walking on the ground making the journey to their nesting site easier penguin fasting during this time. Adelie penguin pairs mate for life in large colonies, with females two eggs for a couple of days apart in a nest built with rocks. Both male and female take turns incubating the eggs, while the other is going to feed, for up to 10 days at a time. Adelie penguin chicks have an egg tooth is a bump on the top of their beaks, which helps them to break the egg. Once hatched, the parents still take turns caring for their young while the other is going to collect food. After about a month, the chicks congregate in groups called crèches and are able to fend for themselves at sea when they are between 2 and 3 months old.

Adelie Penguin Diet and Prey

Adelie Penguins are strong swimmers and able, obtaining all their food from the sea. These penguins feed mainly on krill, which is found throughout the Southern Ocean, as well as shellfish, squid and small fish. The record of fossil eggshell accumulated in the Adelie penguin colonies in the last 38,000 years reveals a sudden change in a fish-based diet of krill that started two hundred years ago. This is believed to be due to the decrease of Antarctic fur seal in the late 1700s and whales in the twentieth century. Reducing competition from these predators has led to there being an abundance of krill, which Adelie penguins are now able to operate as an easy source of food.

Adelie Penguin Predators and threats

Adult Adelie Penguins have no land predators inflexible because living conditions. However, in the water, the greatest threat to the Adelie Penguin is the Leopard Seal, which is one of the southern-most seal species and a dominant predator in the Southern Ocean. These penguins have learned to avoid these predators swimming in large groups and not walking on a tightrope. The orca is the other main predator of the Adelie Penguin, although they normally hunt larger species of penguins further north. Skuas are known to feed on Adelie penguin eggs if left unattended, along with chickens who have strayed from a group.

Adelie Penguin Interesting Facts and Features

Adelie penguins inhabit one of the coldest environments on Earth and therefore have a thick layer of fat under the skin that helps to keep warm. Their feathers help insulate them and provide a waterproof coating for extra protection. The Adelie Penguin Hunter is a very efficient and is able to eat up to 2 kg of food per day, with a breeding colony designed to consume about 9,000 tons of food for 24 hours. The Adelie penguins fins make fantastic swimming and can dive to depths of 175 meters in search of food. Adelie penguins do not have teeth themselves, but have barbed teeth as his tongue and the roof of the mouth. These spikes are not chewing, but to help the penguin to swallow slippery prey.

Adelie Penguin Relationship with humans

A visit to the Adelie penguin colonies has been a long time in the program for tourists to Antarctica, to marvel at the large number of them nest on the beaches and hunting in the surrounding waters. This has meant that Adelie penguins are one of the best known of all penguin species today. Early explorers but penguins also hunted both for their meat and their eggs to survive in conditions so intransigent.

Adelie Penguin Conservation Status and Life Today

Despite being confined to the coast to live in Antarctica, Adelie penguins are one of the most common and widespread in the southern hemisphere. With over 2.5 million breeding pairs are found throughout southern Antarctica, Adelie penguin has adapted well to their polar habitat. Scientists have also been known to use nesting patterns Adelie Penguin as indicators of climate change, realizing that they are able to nest on the beaches that were previously covered with ice. The Adelie Penguin is listed as Least Concern.