1. Classification Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata Class Aves Order Sphenisciformes Family Spheniscidae Genus Aprenodytes Specie Aprenodytes forsteri http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Aptenodytes_forsteri.htm
2. Introduction Description It is the largest penguin. It weights 20-40 kg.
It reaches a height of up to 1.20 m. The male and female show the same features: their
head is big, neck is short and thick, tail is also short and wedge-shaped and have flipper-like wings.
Their coloration is also similar – back is bluish-gray, black wings, white
belly, golden-yellow color on the sides of the head. http://www.gdargaud.net/Antarctica/Penguins.html http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/penguins/emperor.html http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Penguins/reproduction.html Nutrition They feed mostly from fish
and squid that they catch while swimming and diving. http://www.nature.ca/notebooks/english/emperor.htm
Protection against cold There are 3 body features
that helps the emperor penguin to protect itself
from the very low surrounding temperature: ·
Have outer and
inner layers of feathers. ·
Thick layer of
adipose tissue, located under the feathers. ·
Large surface
area of the body (increases body heat). www.gdargaud.net/antarctica/penguins.html Communication They recognize one another
only vocally. They produce a very lowed noise,
due to the 2 voices coming out of a tow-parts organ located in the junction
of the bronchi. www.gdargaud.net/antarctica/penguins.html http://bio.univet.hu/SALVE/Student_essay/library/penguin_voice.pdf Behavior They leave in colonies and
follow a leader. They are only aggressive when
feeding their chicks. The females are also aggressive when fighting over
a male. www.gdargaud.net/antarctica/penguins.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/366.shtml Distribution 200,000 breeding pairs are currently
found in Antarctica. 10 months of the year are spread along
the Antarctic coasts, while the remaining 2 months are still a mystery.
www.gdargaud.net/antarctica/penguins.html 2. Reproduction Sexual maturity The emperor penguin reaches
it's sexual maturity afterr 3-6 years. http://ladywildlife.com/animal/EmperorPenguin.html Breeding The breeding season is
between March – December - Antarctic winter
in which the temperature is up to -60 degrees Celsius and wind speed
is 200 km/hour. They travel along roads up to
the coast and gathering at rookeries around April. The females compete
for their males. After mating, the female lays one egg on the male's
feet and leave. www.gdargaud.net/antarctica/penguins.html http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Penguins/reproduction.html Nesting They nest along the shore-line,
close to a feeding area. Incubating period takes 64 days. They do
not build nests, instead the male incubate the egg on its feet, warming
it by an abdominal fold. Under this fold is a featherless pouch containing
blood vessels which transfer heat to the egg. The male doesn't eat
during the incubating period, and therefore
losses 50% of its body weight. http://www.nature.ca/notebooks/english/emperor.htm http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Penguins/reproduction.html http://ladywildlife.com/animal/EmperorPenguin.html The egg The egg size is 11.1-12.7
cm. long and weights 345–515 gr. There are two reasons for egg
death: The first one is when the male takes too big steps it can drop
the egg to the ice. The second one is when the egg is transferred
from the female's to the male's feet, it also might fall. Once the egg
left its parents, they won't be able to recognize it. The egg, left
on its own, will freeze and die. http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Penguins/reproduction.html www.gdargaud.net/antarctica/penguins.html Hatching The hatching time is around
the middle of July. The chicks come out of the egg
by pocking a small hole in the egg. They remove the shell until the
top is pushed up. This process takes up to 3 days. http://www.eliasdesigns.com/penguins/large.htm
After the hatching A hatched chick is being
covered by a fine down which is not water proof. Only when require
their plumage, at about one year old, they become water proof. http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Penguins/reproduction.html Care of chicks Usually, by the time the chick
hatches its mother return from the sea with food. Then the male
goes to the sea to absorb food in order to recover its loss of weight. In case the female have not returned,
the male produces and secrete a milk-like substance from its oesophagus to feed the chick. The feeding stage takes 4-5 months.
The development period is between hatching and water-proof plumage http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Penguins/reproduction.html
http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Penguins/reproduction.html
