The biodiversity database holds terrestrial and freshwater Antarctic and sub-Antarctic flora and fauna in support of the SCAR Life Sciences programme EBA (Evolution and Biodiversity in the Antarctic). For further details, see the EBA website. This database also holds marine data from the Australian Antarctic Programme.
Pygoscelis papua papua
Taxon Id 66969
Common Name
Gentoo Penguin (subantarctic)
Authority
Forster, 1781
Naming Status
Currently accepted name
Status
Found in the Antarctica/sub-Antarctic or Southern Ocean (see map of extents)
Gentoo penguins forage at sea close to the colony, and thus their chicks can be frequently fed. This may explain why Gentoo penguins rear two chicks each year.
Gentoo penguin eggs are taken by skuas. Young birds are preyed upon by sheathbills, caracaras (falcons), kelp gulls, giant petrels and feral cats, while older birds are taken by leopard seals. Nests are often flattened by indifferent elephant seals as they move about the island.
Unlike other penguin species, gentoo penguins may breed as early as two years of age. Both male and females aduls incubate the egg and brood the chick in shifts.
Taxon Biology
Diet and Feeding Diet and feeding details
Gentoo penguins feed on rock cod, amphipods and cephalopods (mainly squid). Females eat more krill than males, while males eat more fish. It is thought that gentoo penguins are gregarious at sea.
Habitat Includes realm (e.g. Terrestrial etc) and climatic information (e.g. Boreal); also includes requirements and tolerances; horizontal and vertical distribution;
Gentoo penguins breed on sub-Antarctic islands and the Antarctic Peninsula in small to large colonies. Larger colonies exist at South Georgia, the Falkland Islands and Iles Kerguelen.
Relationships with other taxa
is a host of the parasite - Naubates prioni (Biting Lice) (profile)
is a host of the parasite - Naubates clypeatus (Biting Lice) (profile)
is a host of the parasite - Lipeurus prioni Enderlein, 1908: 454 (profile)
is a host of the parasite - Naubates sp. Watson, 1967: 72 (profile)
