Penguins - a bird or animal?The familiar question, right?And this is understandable.Each one of us asked this question, or a child, or heard it from their children.Admittedly, not everyone knows the answer.So who are these wonderful and important handsome penguins?It is a bird?Or animals?Or maybe it's the fish?
little history
Europeans first saw these amazing creatures in 1499 One of the companions of the famous Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama was abandoned record that describes the strange bird-like something on the geese, "shouting, screaming reminiscent of donkeys... they could not fly ... "Probably, they also tormented by the question:" Penguins - a bird or animal? ยป
12 years later, a similar recording was made member of the expedition of Magellan, the Italian Antonio Pigafetta.He wrote: "Strange geese, keep upright, not able to fly, very fat ..." Actually, due to its nutritional poultry and got his first name.The fact that "pigvis" in Latin means "fat."The scientific name "sfeniskus demersus" (translation - "a small wedge immersed in water") gave the birds much later - in 1758.The new name was a brief description, and stressing the shape of birds and their way of life.
If we talk about the first encounter penguins with people, it was held, probably in Australia.It turns out that during the excavations on the ancient sites of the bones of these birds.Scientists suggest that the meat in the diet of penguins were Australian Aborigines.
Short description
And yet ... Penguins - a bird or animal?Any encyclopedia gives this question a clear answer. Spheniscidae - a family of flightless sea, but good swimming and diving birds.The only members of the order pingvinoobraznyh.The family has 20 subspecies.Body penguins streamlined, adapted for movement in the water.Due to the muscles and bones of these birds device perfectly swim, the role of the screws of forcing the speed, perform the wings.The belly has a well developed muscles, which amounts to about a quarter of the total weight, and pronounced keel.Thighs are rather short, knee joints motionless, legs shifted back (the reason for this strange and funny gait).The feet are large, short, with swimming membranes.Tail much shorter, serves as a support on the ground."Wheel" when sailing are primarily paws.Color penguins distinctive black "suit" and a white belly.
Why a penguin can not be called a fish?
This is another frequently asked question: "Penguin - it's a bird or a fish?" For some, the question seems ridiculous, but since it takes place, try to understand.In fact, if the penguin feels great under water, why not call it a fish?Firstly, because in this environment, he just hunts.But a penguin lives on land.There the eggs hatch (it will not spawn as fish), brings up posterity.Another important difference - the presence of feathers (very small, tight and uniformly distributed over a thick fat layer).In addition, penguins - are warm-blooded.However, the heat transfer system they have their own, especially in some sense unique.Its "motor" is in the wings and legs.Arterial blood flowing therein loses heat to the venous (cooler), and that, in turn, flows off to the body (back).Heat losses thus obtained minimal.
Power
basis of the menu of penguins Antarctic silverfish, anchovies, sardines and shellfish.Often they eat just under the water, others - onshore.Species, feed primarily on crustaceans, have to spend a lot more on the production of energy.To make up for the cost of energy per dive, they only have to catch about two dozen crayfish.Penguins feed mainly on fish, it is much easier - they are only one of the ten successful dive.The duration of each type of hunting different and depends on the season.For example, Emperor penguins can do more than 800 dives.But in moult and expectations offspring birds have generally refuse to eat.During this time, about half of the weight is lost.Drink penguins mainly seawater.Special glands located near the eye, deduce the excess salt.
Reproduction
Why assertion that Penguin - an animal can not be true?The evidence that it is - a bird, cited previously.As a new argument let's look at the process of reproduction.Let's start with the fact that penguins do not viviparous, they hatch the eggs, all the birds.The birds nest in colonies, tens of thousands of couples.For brooding and feeding of children, both parents are responsible to periodically replace each other.
statement that Penguin - a mammal, the method denies feeding.They feed the chicks are not milk, and half-digested fish and crustaceans that are the parents regurgitate.The lower abdominal folds kids "dive" in order to hide from the cold, and not for the sake of servings of milk, as some believe.
of maturity depends on the sex and species of birds.At one pairing is possible in two years (small, sub-Antarctic), others - a year later (the Antarctic, emperor, king), the third - only after five years (macaroni).
