Eudyptes pachyrhynchus, Fiordland Penguin [+]
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Aves
Order Ciconiiformes
Family Spheniscidae
Genus Eudyptes
species: Eudyptes pachyrhynchus [+ITIS +WoRMS]
|
← Previous Photo | Next Photo → |
Description & Behavior
The Fiordland (crested) penguin, Eudyptes pachyrhynchus (Gray, 1845), is one of the smaller species in the penguin family. Fiordland penguins have black plumage on the back, head and throat with white plumage on the belly. They have a short, orange bill and pink feet and the characteristic yellow crests that extend from the bill to just above the eyes and behind the head. The Fiordland penguin is often confused with the erect-crested penguin, which also has crests above the eyes and with the Snares Island penguin although the Snares is a larger species. The Fiordland penguin stands about 40 cm tall and weighs an average of 4 kgs. This species is not as social as other penguin species and tend to form loose colonies with sparsely distributed nesting sites.
World Range & Habitat
The Fiordland penguin, Eudyptes pachyrhynchus, is a migratory species found in the waters of Antarctica around the Southern Islands. During breeding season, this species can be found on the coasts of southwest New Zealand, Stewart Island and Solander Island. Breeding sites are typically found near trees or among the rocks for protection.
Feeding Behavior (Ecology)
Fiordland penguins, Eudyptes pachyrhynchus, feed on crustaceans, squid and small fishes.
Life History
Fiordland penguins, Eudyptes pachyrhynchus, spend most of their time in the open ocean, only coming ashore to breed in monogamous pairs. Males leave the sea to select a breeding site in late June or July followed by the females 2 weeks later. Fiordland penguins do not form tight colonies like other penguin species, they tend to nest away from other pairs. Females lay 2 light green eggs at the nesting site protected by tree roots or stones during incubation for 4-6 weeks. Commonly only one egg hatches, although in some cases both chicks hatch, however the parents are often unable to feed both and the smaller of the 2 chicks dies. Like other penguin species, the male will often protect the chick while the female forages for food. When the chicks are a little older, both parents will leave the nesting site to forage. At this stage, chicks often gather in crèches (small groups of young penguins). At about 10 weeks, the chicks have developed their adult plumage and leave the nest for the sea. They will return after reaching sexual maturity around 5 years of age.
Conservation Status/Additional Comments
Little population data exist for the Fiordland penguin because breeding sites are remote and difficult to access.
Fiordland crested penguins, Eudyptes pachyrhynchus, are listed as Vulnerable (VU A2be+3be; C1) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species:
VULNERABLE (VU)
A taxon is Vulnerable when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the criteria A to E for Vulnerable (see Section V), and it is therefore considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
References & Further Research
BioOne ~ CITES ~ Discover Life ~ GBIF ~ Google Scholar ~ ITIS ~ IUCN RedList ~ MarineBio Network ~ NCBI ~ SCIRIS ~ SIRIS ~ Tree of Life Web Project ~ Wikipedia
Center for Biological Diversity: Penguins
Fiordland Crested Penguin, Eudyptes pachyrhynchus - International Penguin Conservation Working Group
New Zealand Penguins, by Dave Houston
Search the Web for Fiordland Penguin » ARKive ~ Ask.com ~ Ask Jeeves ~ bing ~ deviantART ~ dmoz ~ Dogpile ~ Google Images ~ MySpace Images ~ OceanFootage ~ Picsearch ~ StumbleUpon ~ Yahoo! Images ~ YouTube
