Penguin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Penguins Fossil range: Paleocene-Recent | ||||||||||||
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 Gentoo Penguin, Pygoscelis papua | ||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
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| Modern genera | ||||||||||||
| Aptenodytes |
Penguins (order Sphenisciformes, family Spheniscidae) are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid, and other forms of sealife caught while swimming underwater. They spend about half of their life on land and half in the oceans.
Although all penguin species are native to the southern hemisphere, they are not found only in cold climates, such as Antarctica. In fact, only a few species of penguin live so far south. Several species are found in the temperate zone, and one species, the Galápagos Penguin, lives near the equator.
The largest living species is the Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri): adults average about 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) tall and weigh 35 kg (75 lb) or more. The smallest penguin species is the Little Blue Penguin (also known as the Fairy Penguin), which stands around 40 cm tall (16 in) and weighs 1 kg (2.2 lb). Among extant penguins, larger penguins inhabit colder regions, while smaller penguins are generally found in temperate or even tropical climates (see also Bergmann's Rule). Some prehistoric species attained enormous sizes, becoming as tall or as heavy as an adult human (see below for more). These were not restricted to Antarctic regions; on the contrary, subantarctic regions harboured high diversity, and at least one giant penguin occurred in a region not quite 2,000 km south of the equator 35 mya, in a climate decidedly warmer than today.
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Etymology
Penguin may come from the Latin pinguis, “fat”. This is supported by the fact that the corresponding words in most other languages (e.g., French pingouin, German Pinguin) have i instead of e as the first vowel.[1] What may be a King Penguin but certainly is a member of the Spheniscidae appears on a 1599 map at the Strait of Magellan with the caption "Pinguyn". The map's features are labeled in Latin, such as Fretum Magellanicum ("Strait of Magellan"). In addition, there is ample evidence that the Latin term anser magellanicus ("Goose of Magellan" or "Magellanic Goose") was the usual term for penguins in the scholarly literature of that time. As a side note, the French pingouin actually translates to English as the Auk, as penguins are called manchot in French.
The word Penguin is thought by some to derive from the Welsh words pen (head) and gwyn (white),[1] applied to the Great Auk which had white spots in front of its eyes (although its head was black); or from an island off Newfoundland known as Pengwyn, due to its having a large white rock. (In the latter case, the name may also have come from Breton.) This fanciful theory is highly unlikely, since penguins do not actually have white heads, and there are no other examples of a Welsh word becoming the basis of words throughout Europe languages. Welsh was not even spoken in England, let alone throughout Europe. Furthermore penguins have no particular link to the Welsh which would lead foreigners loan a word from Welsh. A Welsh i is often sound-shifted to an e in the English language.[2]
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