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Fiordland penguin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fiordland penguin
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Sphenisciformes
Family: Spheniscidae
Genus: Eudyptes
Species:
E. pachyrhynchus
Binomial name
Eudyptes pachyrhynchus
Current breeding range

TheFiordland penguin(Eudyptes pachyrhynchus), also known as theFiordlandcrested penguin(inMāori,tawakiorpokotiwha), is acrested penguinspeciesendemictoNew Zealand.It currently breeds along the south-western coasts ofNew Zealand'sSouth Islandas well as onStewart Island/Rakiuraand its outlying islands.[2]Because it originally ranged beyondFiordland,it is sometimes referred to as theNew Zealand crested penguin.[3]It is occasionally found in Australia.[4]

Taxonomy

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The Fiordland crested penguin was described in 1845 by English zoologistGeorge Robert Gray,its specific epithet derived from theAncient Greekpachy-/παχυ- "thick" andrhynchos/ρύγχος "beak".[5]It is one of six species in the genusEudyptes,the generic name derived from the Ancient Greekeu/ευ "good" anddyptes/δύπτης "diver".[5]

Description

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The Fiordland penquin has a prominent yellow crest on its head

This species is a medium-sized, yellow-crested, black-and-white penguin, growing to approximately 60 cm (24 in) long and weighing on average 3.7 kg (8.2 lb), with a weight range of 2 to 5.95 kg (4.4 to 13.1 lb).[6]It has dark, bluish-grey upperparts with a darker head, and white underparts. Its broad, yellow eyebrow-stripe extends over the eye and drops down the neck. It can be distinguished from the similarerect-crested penguin(Eudyptes sclateri) andSnares penguin(Eudyptes robustus) in having no bare skin around the base of its bill.[7]Female Fiordland penguins lay a clutch of two eggs where the first-laid egg is much smaller than the second egg, generally hatches later, and shows higher mortality, demonstrating a brood reduction system that is unique from other avian groups.[8]The Fiordland crested penguin has a much higher breeding success than most other Eudyptes species, even at sites with introduced and/or native predators.

Distribution and habitat

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This penguin nests in colonies among tree roots and rocks in dense temperate coastal forest. It breeds along the shores in the West Coast of the South Island, south of aboutBruce Bayand theOpen Bay Islands,aroundFiordlandandFoveaux Strait,and onStewart Island/Rakiuraand its outlying islands.[7]Fossils of this species have been found as far north as the northern end of the South Island, and they probably once nested in the North Island as well.[9]Their range drastically reduced by hunting in Polynesian times, and they are now only found in the least-populated part of New Zealand.[3]The species is also present inAustralia.[10][11]

Diet

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The main prey species reported are cephalopods (85%, mainlyarrow squid,Nototodarus sloanii), followed by crustaceans (13%, primarilykrill,Nyctiphanes australis) and fish (2%, mainlyred codandhoki). However, the importance of cephalopods might be exaggerated.[12]Prey taken seems to vary between Codfish Island and northern Fiordland.[13]

Conservation

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Fiordland crested penguins are classed asnear threatenedby theIUCN,[1]and their status was changed from vulnerable to endangered by theDepartment of Conservationin 2013.[13]Surveys in the 1990s counted 2,500 pairs, though this was likely an underestimate; based on historic trends, the population is probably continuing to decline. The main threats are introduced predators such dogs, cats,rats,and especiallystoats.They are also vulnerable to human disturbance, fleeing nests and leaving chicks exposed to predators.[13]

References

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  1. ^abBirdLife International (2020)."Eudyptes pachyrhynchus".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2020:e.T22697776A182279725.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697776A182279725.en.Retrieved19 November2021.
  2. ^Mattern, Thomas (2013). "Chapter 10: Fiordland penguinEudyptes pachyrhynchus".In Garcia-Borboroglu, Pablo & Boersma, P. Dee (eds.).Penguins: Natural History and Conservation.University of Washington Press. pp. 152–167.ISBN978-0-253-34034-4.
  3. ^abWorthy, Trevor H.; Holdaway, Richard N. (2002).The Lost World of the Moa.Bloomington IN: Indiana University Press.ISBN0-253-34034-9.
  4. ^"Rare penguins' Aussie arrival not a good sign, researcher says".ABC News.11 July 2023.
  5. ^abLiddell, Henry George&Robert Scott(1980).A Greek-English Lexicon(Abridged ed.). United Kingdom:Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-910207-4.
  6. ^CRC Handbook of Avian Body Massesby John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992),ISBN978-0-8493-4258-5.
  7. ^abHeather, Barrie; Robertson, Hugh (2015).The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand.New Zealand: Penguin.ISBN978-0-143-57092-9.
  8. ^St. Clair, Colleen (1992). "Incubation Behavior, Brood Patch Formation and Obligate Brood Reduction in Fiordland Crested Penguins".Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.31(6): 409–416.doi:10.1007/bf00170608.S2CID189890803– via JSTOR.
  9. ^Worthy, Trevor H. (1997). "The identification of fossilEudyptesandMegadyptesbones at Marfell's Beach, Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand ".New Zealand Natural Sciences.23:71–85.
  10. ^Fanning, L., Larsen, H., & Taylor, P. S. (2020). A preliminary study investigating the impact of musical concerts on the behavior of captive fiordland penguins (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus) and collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu).Animals,10(11), 2035.
  11. ^Theresa L Cole, Jonathan M Waters, Lara D Shepherd, Nicolas J Rawlence, Leo Joseph, Jamie R Wood; Ancient DNA reveals that the ‘extinct’ Hunter Island penguin (Tasidyptes hunteri) is not a distinct taxon.Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society,zlx043,https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx043
  12. ^van Heezik, Y(1989). "Diet of the Fiordland Crested penguin during the post-guard phase of chick growth".Notornis.36:151–156.
  13. ^abcEllenberg, U. (2013). Miskelly, C.M. (ed.)."Fiordland crested penguin".New Zealand Birds Online.Retrieved23 March2017.
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