Penguins (Spheniscidae) In the family of the Spheniscidae lie the Penguins. They are covered with feathers and are warm blooded animals. They are aquatic and birdlike animals. There are 18 different species of penguins, and 6 genera’s. The major species of Spheniscidae include the Emperor Penguin, King Penguin, Royal Penguin, and many more. This one category of Spheniscidae has 3 sub families. Palaeeudyptinae which are Giant Penguins, Paraptenodytinae which are Stout-footed Penguins, and Palaeospheniscinae which are Slender-footed Penguins. All species are differentiated by their looks, characteristics and the way they live. Scientists might confirm a 19th species called Eudyptula Albosignat, also known as the white flippered form of a fairy …show more content…
That is wrong. They are in Antarctica, as well as in almost the rest of the other continents even though they don’t look like the suitable environment for them. They can live in warm climates like Africa and not only live in snow and ice Even though the penguins can live in the warmer climates they need cold water to “foraging” and the cold water they get can come from the cold currents brought in from the Atlantic They live in different environments based on their physical appearances, adaptations, and behaviors. Penguins are water dependent. They spend majority of the time in the water. Even though they might come on the land, they have to come on the land for two major things. Breeding and moulting are the two things. Species of penguins are found in different parts of the world. Emperor Penguin is typically found in frozen areas unlike the King Penguin which is found in flat coastal plains near water. Some live near ice-free rocky coasts, along coasts in rocks or lava fields, wet coastal rain forest, and etc. Penguins are assumed to like cold places because of where they have been found by people. Usually penguins like to stay near warm seas. They like the warm areas and water that comes from the south. Having cooler water anywhere could help the penguins to live
Matson Museum of Antropology. Penn State college of Liberal Arts. 2011. 1 Aug 2011 .
Today we will be taking about the Duck Billed Platypus, we will be seeing that makes them different. The first thing we will start out with is their appearance. The Platypus has brown waterproof fur and a flat tail like a beaver they also have a bill and webbed feet like a duck. They next thing I will talk about a Platypus diet. A Platypus mainly eat insects and larvae, shellfish, and worms but because Platypus have no teeth they use gravel they scoop up to break up there food. Platypus are also Carnivore meaning they only eat meat or flesh. Next we will talk about the Platypus defenses. When swimming the Platypus have folds of skin covering their eyes and ears to prevent water from entering, and the nostrils close with a watertight
The main evolutionary advantage of giving up aerial flight is the improved swimming ability; in particular being able to swim quickly helps in catching fish and being able to dive to great depths (studies show that some modern penguins can dive up to 300meters) which greatly increases the range of food which is available to hunt. Another major influence in the evolution of penguins is likely to have been the availability of vast amounts of food in the ocean. The beak up of the Proto-continent, Gondwanaland, was completed around 200,000,000 years ago and left the Antarctic continent completely surrounded by an ocean. The resulting cold currents established in the southern ocean (once the polar ice cap had formed) made them rich in nutrients and then led to the huge amounts of fish and crustaceans in the area.
The Atlantic Puffin’s scientific name is Fratercula Arctica. Puffins are part of the Auk family, which is classified as the Alcidae family. They belong to the order Charadriiformes, a diverse order of small to medium sized birds that commonly live near the water. (A few occupy deserts and rain forests.)
Like I said moments ago, the penguin is known to be witty, meticulous, inscrutable and they of course live on ice! First of all, I can be witty if I want to, and I spend half of my time on the ice. By that, I mean at the arena playing or practicing ringette. Ringette is a part of me and it always will be. I love the sound of my skate edge cutting into the ice. In addition to that, I love the way snow sprays off my skate when I make a quick stop as well. These are just some of the way that I can relate to a penguin. In conclusion to this paragraph, I am most like a penguin because I often enjoy the cold
The Common Starling, otherwise known as Sturnus Vulgaris or European Starling, is a medium sized songbird that is a member of the Sturnidae bird family. These birds are known to mimic sounds from other species and can even mimic human speech when held in captivity. They are very stout in their build and have short tails. They change color depending on the season, such as purple-green feathers in the summer and brown feathers with white spots in the winter.
At first glance platypuses seem to be an amalgamation of mammals, birds, and everything in between. In fact, their reproduction biology also has much in common with a variety of animals—reptiles, birds, placentals and marsupial mammals. Platypuses belong to a group of animals called monotremes. These egg-laying mammals have been a mystery to researchers since their discovery by Westerners over 200 years ago. The first specimens of platypuses brought back to England were thought to be hoaxes similar to mermaids (Moyal, 2001). Found only in and around Australia, there are only three living species of monotremes: the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) and two species of echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus, and Zaglossus bruijni).
These penguins lived after the Castastrophic event “Cretaceuous” that demolished the dinosaurs and many other species. Based on the DNA analyses and avaiable evidence of modern birds, we think the modern bird- lineages, including penguins, some how managed to survive through the Cretaceuous. Also it’s not shocking these fossils were found in New Zeland. The South Pacific and Southern oceans were free of predatory mammals, had abundant food, and had space for Penguins to breed. But the Southern Pacific is not the only area where Penguins inhabit. Many of modern penguins “Aptrenodytes” are located in the Antarctic. Recenelty it was discovered that there was a over looked feature on the surface of the fossil penguins flipper bone. These grooves were easily missed because the look was similar to tendons and muscles in the same area. It was discovered that these grooves were blood vessels that make up a counter current heat exchanger called “humeral arterial plexus” which allows penguins to limit the heat loss through the flippers. Also it helped Penguins maintain their core body temperature in cold water allowing them to survive long journeys in the cold waters. Although Penguins have luckily been able develop these traits to survive the dramatic shifts in climate, the world population can not mistake their success as resilience towards global warming.
Works Cited Bates, D. (1957, December 17). Letter from Roy Wilkins. Little Rock, Arkansas, United States of America. Beals, M. P. (1994). The Species of the World.
The platypus is covered with a thick water-resistant fur, excluding its bill and feet. It’s body it streamlined, has short limbs and webbed forefeet to propel itself through water using an alternative kicking motion. The webs on the for...
Calyptorhynchus banksii, commonly known as the red-tailed black-cockatoo, is of the Family Cacatuidae (Cockatoos), which is a branch of the Order Psittaciformes. Red-tailed black-cockatoos are indigenous to Australia and can be found throughout the entire continent. Calyptorhynchus banksii is distinct in that there are five different subspecies: Calyptorhynchus banksii( C.b.) banksii, C.b. macrorohynchus, C.b. naso, C.b. graptogyne, and C.b. samueli (Del Hoyo et al., 1997). Differences in beak apparatus are one of the most prevalent variations observed within the subspecies. Throughout the paper an examination of evolutionary forces will explain the changes that have occurred in the beak apparatus of the red-tailed black-cockatoo.
Polar bears don't just live on ice, they use the ice as an advantage to catch prey such as seals. Polar bears have adapted to living on ice and being able to withstand the cold weather. Now that the climate is changing at a fast pace, polar bears are losing their land because its melting, leaving them with no place to walk, sleep and taking away their way of hunting prey. (polar bears international, 2015) This is all happening so fast that there is no way polar bears will be able to adapt to the new environments, causing extinction. The arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world is due to the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, making it a problem happening very rapidly. (Bagley, 2015) Temperatures in the Arctic region have risen 7 degrees Fahrenheit over the last half century. (Bagley, 2015) Population among polar bears has decreased up to 40% in some areas. (Bagley, 2015) With the climate getting warmer, ice is melting earlier every spring, and takes longer to freeze every winter which is disrupting the feeding and breeding cycles of many different arctic species. (Bagley, 2015) Polar bears have adapted ways to survive in the cold harsh arctic environment including having the ability to cool down their outer skin to keep their vital organs warm when they are submerged in cold water. Though this may help the delay of hypothermia as they have to swim greater distances from ice shelf to ice shelf, that doesn't mean polar bears can swim forever. (Bagley, 2015) One bear that a scientist studied swam 500 miles over nine days, but lost 22% of her body weight, and lost her cub.(Bagley, 2015) Many different scientists have been studying the behaviour of the polar bear to see if it could adapt in any way to survive. Eight U.S scientists made a hypothesis consisting that polar bears could lower their metabolic rates enough to survive as food
"Cornell Lab of Ornithology." : Education at the Lab of Ornithology. Web. 05 May 2014. .
Peregrine falcons are found in every single part of the world except Antarctica. They were
Polar bears prefer to live in extremely cold artic climates. They live only in the Northern Hemisphere, on the arctic ice cap, and they spend most of their time on coastal areas. Polar bears are widely spread in Canada, extending from the northern arctic islands south to the Hudson Bay area. They are also found in Greenland, on islands off the shore of Norway, on the northern coast of the former Soviet Union, and on the northern and northwestern coasts of Alaska in the United States.