Penguins are oviparous animals, and male penguins only lay one egg at a time. But the six-week incubation mission is undertaken by the male penguin. Its abdomen is like an incubator at 34℃, so don't worry that penguin eggs will freeze here. During this period, the penguin father has to endure hunger. For the sake of his baby, he can't jump into the sea to fish to satisfy his hunger. All his energy is taken from the fat stored in his body. Who can not say that he is the greatest "father" in the world?
so what did mother penguin do now? She went to store the baby's food She swam in the warmer, fishy sea, swallowed a lot of fish and formed a thick layer of fat in her body. Before the chick hatched, the mother would rush back to the baby with a sense of time. Mother's stomach stores a lot of semi-digested fish and prepares food for the penguin baby.
There are about 2.5 million penguins in the world, and there are 18 species in * * *. These animals are very human. They are monogamous, and they will stay together for life and be loyal forever. The way of communication between them is through sound, for example, quacking means happiness, moaning means chatting after dinner, and shrill voice means warning. Adult penguins are generally 1.2 meters tall and weigh 3 kilograms. In order to resist the cold, a penguin eats 6 kilograms of fish every day. Little penguins can swim in the sea when they are one year old, and the life span of penguins is usually 7-15 years.
Penguins are the best snorkelers in Antarctica. Although they walk to swing, in the water, their feet are "engines" that can dive into the water for 5 meters at a speed of 25 kilometers per hour. Because they have two airbags, the diving time can be as long as 2 minutes. Their feathers are hard and smooth, like a diving suit.
Penguins mainly live in Antarctica. If a cold current strikes, they will huddle together tightly and look like a black carpet from a distance. It is because of this collective spirit that they are regarded as very intelligent animals.
Penguins who are not afraid of the cold can stop breathing and stay underwater for a moment in the cold water around the Antarctic continent, and sometimes they can dive as deep as 5 meters. They can dive like this hundreds of times a day without any damage to their bodies.
Penguins have amazing ability to regulate metabolism. Only essential parts of the whole body are at work, and the metabolism of other parts is very smooth. Scientists put sensors on a dozen species of penguins living in the waters between Antarctica and Africa, and they got some very surprising figures. The normal temperature of a penguin is 38℃. After diving, its abdominal temperature drops to 11℃, while its stomach temperature remains above 3℃. The fish eaten by a penguin is very cold (only 4-5℃), which leads to the drop of its body temperature, while its stomach temperature remains unchanged. So far, people can't give a satisfactory explanation for this.
The researcher in charge of this work explained: "There is another solution to this mystery: conditioned hypothermia related to diving. Penguin's body tissue seems to use its own energy perfectly. It uses blood to coordinate all parts of body activity: brain, heart, muscles that produce thrust, etc. At the same time, the activities of other tissues are very gentle, so these tissues produce less energy and the temperature is naturally lower. " The researcher went on to say, "This phenomenon is well known. For example, this phenomenon can also be observed in hibernating early otters. But contrary to this sleepy mammal, penguins are very active. After each dive, it goes back to the surface to rest for a minute, and then dives underwater to fish. It repeats this action in 1 hours and can do it hundreds of times a day. "
Penguins are indigenous people of the Antarctic, and people call them the symbol of the Antarctic, which is well deserved. First, because of the large number, high density and wide distribution of penguins, it has been found that there are about 1 million penguins in the Antarctic region, accounting for 1/1 of the total number of seabirds in the world, and they are found on the coast of the Antarctic continent and the islands in the sub-Antarctic region. The first thing people notice when they land in Antarctica is the swarms of penguins all over the mountains. Penguins bring vitality to Antarctica, a cold and lonely world of ice and snow.
Second, because the penguin looks lovely, especially its dignified, polite and gentlemanly manner, which leaves a deep impression on people.
Third, because penguins have shared joys and sorrows in Antarctica for generations, they have exercised and created a hard skill to adapt to the harsh environment in Antarctica-the special physiological function of low temperature tolerance.
Fourth, because of the unique living habits of penguins, such as male penguins incubating eggs and chick kindergartens, it has long been passed down as a much-told story and an interesting talk.
Fifthly, because penguins are a symbol of cold, people think of Antarctica, the world's cold pole, when they see penguins. It is no wonder that the products of the world cold drink industry often use penguins as trademarks. In midsummer, when you see penguins, it will give people a cool and refreshing feeling.
It is the mysterious world of Antarctica that breeds such a strange "resident". Antarctic penguins, like polar bears, have become well-known representative animals.
Tracing back to the source
Where is the hometown of Antarctic penguins? Can the ancestors of penguins fly? What is the evolution of penguins and so on? The origin of penguins is a subject that biologists are discussing and studying, and it is still a mystery so far.
However, there is a saying that penguins in Antarctica originated from a flying animal during the breakup of Gondwana. About 2 million years ago, Gondwana began to split and disintegrate, and the Antarctic continent separated and began to drift south. At this time, there happened to be a group of flying animals flying over the ocean. They found the drifting Antarctic continent, so they circled and watched, and finally they decided to land on this land. At first, they had a very happy life there, with plenty of food and clothing. However, the good times did not last long. As the mainland went south, it became colder and colder. They wanted to fly and had nowhere to fly. They were surrounded by vast ice and snow fields and had no choice but to stay in this land. Soon the Antarctic continent reached the polar region, and after a long time, it was finally covered with thick ice and snow. The original lush creatures died in large numbers, and only the ancestor of penguins, a flying animal, survived. However, they have changed completely, from flying to not flying, from broad and fluffy feathers to fine needle-like feathers, and their slender bodies have become short and fat. The physiological function has also undergone profound changes, and the ability to resist low temperature has been enhanced. With the passage of time and the turn of the century, they finally became modern penguins and became indigenous people in the Antarctic region.
Although the above statement is somewhat bizarre, it is not entirely out of thin air, and there is some scientific basis. Paleontologists have found penguin-like fossils in Antarctica. The analysis results show that this penguin-like bird at that time had some characteristics of amphibians, about 1 meter high and weighing 9.3 kilograms, which may be the predecessor of penguin.
species distribution
there are about 2 species of penguins in the world, all of which are distributed in the southern hemisphere, with the Antarctic continent as the center and the southern tip of Africa, South America and Oceania in the north, mainly distributed on the mainland coast and some islands.
There are seven kinds of Antarctic penguins: Emperor Penguin, Adelie Penguin, Jintu Penguin (also known as Papua Penguin), Hooded Penguin (also known as Antarctic Penguin), King Penguin (also known as King Penguin), Rocky Penguin and Flashy Penguin. These seven species of penguins breed in the Antarctic convergence zone.
There are more than 1 species of penguins outside the Antarctic, such as Ring Penguin, Hong Ring Penguin, Macquarie Ring Penguin, Spotted Ring Penguin, Thick-billed Penguin, Vertical-crowned Penguin, Yellow-eyed Penguin, White-winged Pteris Penguin and Small Pteris Penguin, which belong to temperate and subtropical species, and all of them are smaller than Antarctic penguins, and some of them have white spots on their backs.
The * * * isomorphic features of Antarctic penguins are: streamlined body, black feathers on the back, white feathers on the abdomen, degenerated wings, fin-shaped, thin tubular feathers, needle-shaped arrangement, short skinny legs, webbed toes, short tail, fat body, big belly and stumbling. Different species of penguins have obvious characteristics, which are easy to identify. The main characteristics of seven species of penguins in Antarctica are as follows.
There are not many species of Antarctic penguins, but the number is considerable. According to long-term observation and estimation by ornithologists, there are nearly 12 million penguins in Antarctic, accounting for 87% of the total number of penguins in the world and 9% of the total number of seabirds in Antarctica. The largest number is Adelie penguins, about 5 million, followed by hooded penguins, about 3 million, and the smallest number is emperor penguins, about 57 thousand.