King penguin

King penguin
King penguin Fortuna Bay, South Georgia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Sphenisciformes
Family: Spheniscidae
Genus: Aptenodytes
Species:
A. patagonicus
Binomial name
Aptenodytes patagonicus
Red: Aptenodytes patagonicus patagonicus

Yellow: Aptenodytes patagonicus halli
Green: breeding areas

The king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) is the second largest species of penguin, smaller than but somewhat similar in appearance to the emperor penguin.

King penguins mainly eat lanternfish, squid, and krill. On foraging trips, king penguins repeatedly dive to over 100 metres (300 ft), and have been recorded at depths greater than 300 metres (1,000 ft).[2] Predators of the king penguin include giant petrels, skuas, the snowy sheathbill, the leopard seal, and the orca.

The king penguin breeds on the subantarctic islands at the northern reaches of Antarctica, South Georgia, southern Argentina, and other temperate islands of the region. It also lives on Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean and the Falkland Islands.

This bird was exploited commercially in the past for its blubber, oil, meat, and feathers. Today it is fully protected.[1]

  1. ^ a b BirdLife International (2020). "Aptenodytes patagonicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22697748A184637776. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697748A184637776.en.
  2. ^ Culik, B. M; K. PÜTZ; R. P. Wilson; D. Allers; J. LAGE; C. A. BOST; Y. LE MAHO (January 1996). "Diving Energetics in King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus)" (PDF). Journal of Experimental Biology. 199 (4): 973–983. doi:10.1242/jeb.199.4.973. PMID 8788090.

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