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Four penguin species

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Description

Species depicted: from left to right African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), Galapagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus), Little blue/Fairy penguin (Eudyptula minor), Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri)
Time taken: 13 hr 40 min
References used: many, none specifically
Tools of the trade: Photoshop CS5


Commission for an off-deviantart client.

Kind of in the style of my Antarctic seals, this again shows a small collection of different penguin species, each chosen because they were unique or interesting in their own way. All the way on the left is the African penguin, also known as the Jackass penguin for their diagnostic call (which sounds like a donkey), as well as Black-footed penguin - even though their feet are more often than not splotched with pink.

Next to that is the Galapagos penguin. They are the second smallest penguin species in the world, after the Little penguin, and also the only penguin to occur north of the equator. Sadly their small size and fragile habitat means these little birds are preyed upon by a whole host of animals and are greatly influenced by human activities (they frequently get caught up in fishing gear, for example). The IUCN lists them as Endangered.

Then we have the Little penguin. It is the smallest species of penguin in the world, standing a mere 33 cm tall. In Australia they're also known as Fairy penguins, while they more commonly don the name (Little) Blue penguin in New Zealand. They are also known by their Māori name 'kororā'.

And last but not least there is the Emperor penguin. Emperors are probably the most famous of all penguin species, possibly because they're such extreme birds. They have several records on their name: 

1) First and foremost they are the largest penguin species on the planet, standing up to 130 cm tall. 
2) They are the only penguins to nest during the Antarctic winter, where they survive the coldest living conditions of all birds (up to -60 degrees Celsius with 140+ km/h winds!!). 
3) They can withstand these temperatures in part thanks to the most densely packed plumage of all birds: on average 15 feathers fill every square centimetre of their body. 
4) With their young living in crèches and everyone looking alike, parents and chicks only have their voice to recognise each other by, which also gives them the most diverse individual vocalisations of all penguin species. 

On top of that they can dive to more than 500 metres deep and hold their breath for almost 20 minutes. Amazing animals!



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Comments33
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SilverSugar's avatar
Ahhh fairy penguinnnn! Be still my heart I love those little blue angels. And all pengies but still.

These are so cute.