Unique characteristics

Fusiform body shape

Upright stance

Flipper-like wings

Solid bones

Reduced sternum

Sharply defined black dorsal and white ventral surfaces

Highly modified fur-like feathers

Penguins are widely distributed in the cooler waters of the southern oceans. Largest concentrations and greatest numbers of species occur in cold temperate, subpolar and polar waters. Nearly every Antarctic and Subantarctic island has more than one resident penguin species, and large breeding concentrations are found at certain places along the coasts of Antarctic Peninsula and Antarctic continent. Penguins also breed on mainland coasts and island off of southern Australia, New Zealand, southern Africa, in Patagonia and the Magellanes region, and along the coast of Chile and Peru. The northernmost penguins (Spheniscus mendiculus) are found close to the Equator at the Galapagos Islands (Stonehouse, 1975).

© Corel

Penguins are entirely planktonic or nektonic feeders. Their principle groups of prey include fish, crustaceans and cephalopods (Simpson 1976). The type of food that they eat gives indirect clues as to the diving habits of penguins. According to a study done on the stomach contents of pygoscelid penguins, the main crustacean and staple food of penguins feeding offshore is Euphausia superba; this is replaced by Euphausia crystallorophias closer to shore. Most penguin food sources occur in great shoals in the upper layers of the sea, so it can be implied that that most penguins do not necessarily need to make long submergences or dive deeply to sustain themselves (Stonehouse 1975, Simpson 1976).