liTTLE PENGUIN
CLASSIFICATION:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Sphenisciformes
Family: Spheniscidae
Genus: Eudyptula
Species: E. minor
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Sphenisciformes
Family: Spheniscidae
Genus: Eudyptula
Species: E. minor
morphology
There are 18 species of Penguins that can be up to 4 feet tall. They can weight 44 to 100 Lb. but only in a few species like the Emperor Penguin.
DISTRIBUTION
Populations of Little Penguins can be found at various places along the coasts and surrounding islands of New Zealand and Australia.
why are the little penguins important?
They are important because if they die then seals, and blue whales will die because they won't have food to eat. Also the extraction of oil from penguins fat layers became economically important in the 1800's and early 1900's. Oil was used for lighting, tanning leather, and fuel.
BIOLOGY
Little Penguins generally do not enter the shore before dusk and leave it before dawn. They forage during the day and often will sleep beside the nest at night after they have fed their chicks. These species nests in burrows, under trees, in rock crevices, and sometimes in caves. Usually their nests are clustered to form colonies, but single breeding pairs are not uncommon. At sea Little Penguins are often found alone or in groups of up to ten birds, but sometimes these groups can be much larger. Little Penguins tend to stay close to the coast. Adults sometimes undertake long trips at sea during the non-breeding season, but return regularly to the colony throughout the year. They mainly eat fish, especially sardines and anchovies, but also cephalopods and to a very small degree crustaceans.
vocabulary
Molt- known as sloughing, shedding
Burrows- is a hole or tunnel burrowed into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation.
Forage- is plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock.
Colony- A group of people living in such a country or area, consisting of the original se ttlers and their descendants and successors.
Burrows- is a hole or tunnel burrowed into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation.
Forage- is plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock.
Colony- A group of people living in such a country or area, consisting of the original se ttlers and their descendants and successors.
fun facts!
- Little Penguins are the smallest species of penguin.
- They moult once a year at the end of the breeding season and this usually takes place between February and March.
- The population of Little Penguins is approximately 500,000 pairs.
- Penguins will talk to each other for 2-3 hours, have a 4-5 minute sleep and then talk again for another
- 2-3 hours.
- There are 3000 feathers on a penguin.
resources
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
mesh.biology.washington.edu/penguinProject/Little
www.penguins.cl/little-penguins.htm
mesh.biology.washington.edu/penguinProject/Little
www.penguins.cl/little-penguins.htm