Taxon Profile: Aptenodytes forsteri

Taxonomy details

Context

Taxon Id
100000
Common Name
Emperor Penguin
Authority
Gray, 1844
Naming Status
Currently accepted name
Status
Found in the Antarctica/subantarctic or Southern Ocean
See map of extents
Is endemic within the Antarctica/subantarctic or Southern Ocean
Taxon has been resolved to the rank Species.

Hierarchy

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Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Sphenisciformes
Family
Spheniscidae
Genus
Aptenodytes

©Doug McVeigh 2005
Catalogue id
IA5092
Photographer
McVeigh, Doug
Taxon

Profile

Source of taxon data
AAD

Species Profile:

Taxon Biology

Diet and Feeding
Diet and feeding details 		Emperor penguins prey mainly on fish but krill and squid are also taken. Dive depths vary with season but on average the birds dive to 150-200 m. Dives to > 550 m were recorded. Most dives last 3 - 4 minutes. The longest dive ever recorded lasted 22 minutes.
Habitat
Includes realm (e.g. Terrestrial etc) and climatic information (e.g. Boreal); also includes requirements and tolerances; horizontal and vertical distribution; 		Emperor penguins breed on the Antarctic sea-ice. Around 200,000 pairs breed annually in about 35 colonies around the Antarctic coast. These colonies tend to be located near the edge of the Antarctic continent where the seaice is more stable than close to the ocean. For the penguins that means long trips across the ice before they reach the packice where they can forage.
Reproduction
Reproduction cues, strategies, restraints 		Emperor penguins are the only species of warm-blooded animals that breed during the Antarctic winter. Many anatomical, physiological and behavioural adaptations allow them to tolerate wind chill equivalent of temperatures to -60 C.
Breeding biology
Reproduction including mating habits, habitat usage in breeding, duration of breeding. 		The single egg is incubated on the feet of the male who fasts for about 4 months, ie from the time the penguins arrive at the colony the female the time the chick hatches. The eggs are incubated for 65 - 75 days. The chicks are then brooded on the feet of their parents for another 50 days before they are able to regulate their own body temperature. It takes about 150 days to rear an Emperor penguin chick.

Species belongs to the following lists - Follow link on List Name to see list of all species.