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Aptenodytes patagonicus (King
penguin)
Koningpikkewyn [Afrikaans]; Koningspinguïn king [Dutch];
Manchot royal [French]; Königspinguin [German]; Pinguim-real [Portuguese]
Life
> Eukaryotes >
Opisthokonta
> Metazoa (animals) >
Bilateria >
Deuterostomia > Chordata >
Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates) > Gnathostomata (jawed
vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class:
Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned
fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial
vertebrates) > Tetrapoda
(four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota >
Reptilia (reptiles) >
Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria >
Dinosauria
(dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) >
Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves
(birds) > Order: Ciconiiformes
> Family: Spheniscidae
Distribution and habitat
Breeds on in colonies on sub-Antarctic Islands, before
dispersing across the Southern Ocean in the non-breeding season, generally
staying below 35° south. It occasionally lands on ships which take it further
north; two birds have been found on vessels in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town,
South Africa.
Food
It mainly eats small fish, such as lanternfish (Kreffichthys
andersonnii and Electrona carlsbergi), as well as squid and
crustaceans. It is an extremely strong and agile swimmer, capable of
diving up to about 320 metres underwater in search of prey,
swimming at about two metres per second.
References
-
Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005. Roberts
- Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker
Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.
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