Are penguins birds or animals? Questions and answers

Are penguins birds or animals? A familiar question, right? And this is understandable. Each of us either asked this question in childhood, or heard it from his children. Admittedly, not everyone knows the answer. So who are they, these amazing and important handsome penguins? Are they birds? Or animals? Maybe it's fish?

A bit of history

For the first time Europeans noticed these amazing creatures in 1499. One of the satellites of the famous Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama was left recording, which described strange birds similar to something on geese, "with a cry resembling the cries of donkeys ... They could not fly ... "Probably, they were also tormented by the question:" Are penguins birds or animals? "

Twelve years later, a similar entry was made by a member of the Magellan expedition, the Italian Antonio Pigafetta. He wrote: "Strange geese, holding upright, unable to fly, very fat ..." Actually, thanks to their fatness the birds got their first name. The fact that "pigvis" in Latin means "fat". The scientific name "sfeniskus demersus" (in translation - "a small wedge immersed in water") was given to birds much later - in 1758. The new name became a brief characteristic, which emphasized both the shape of birds and their way of life.

If we talk about the very first acquaintance of penguins with people, then it probably took place in Australia. It turns out that during the archaeological excavations in ancient sites, the bones of these birds were found. Scientists suggest that penguin meat was in the diet of Australian Aborigines.

Short description

And yet ... Are penguins birds or animals? Any encyclopedia gives a clear answer to this question. Spheniscidae is a family of marine flightless but well-floating and diving birds. The only representatives of the detachment penguin. The family has 20 subspecies. The body of the penguins is streamlined, adapted for movement in water. Thanks to the musculature and the structure of the bones, these birds perfectly swim, while the role of propellers, forcing speed, is performed by the wings. The sternum has developed musculature, which is about a quarter of the total weight, and a distinct keel. Femoral bones are rather short, knee joints are fixed, paws are shifted back (the reason for such a strange and funny gait). Feet large, short, with swimming membranes. The tail is greatly shortened, it serves as a support on land. "Steering" when swimming are primarily paws. The color of the penguins is characteristic: a black "tailcoat" and a white tummy.

Why can not a penguin be called a fish?

This is another frequently asked question: "Is the penguin a bird or a fish?" For some, the question seems ridiculous, but, as it takes place, let's try to figure it out. In fact, if the penguin feels great underwater, why not call it a fish? Firstly, because in this environment he only hunts. But the penguin lives on land. There he also incubates eggs (he does not spawn like fish), he brings up offspring. Another important difference is the presence of feathers (very small, tightly fitting, evenly distributed over a thick fat layer). In addition, penguins are warm-blooded. True, the heat transfer system has its own, special and in some ways unique. Its "motor" is in wings and paws. The arterial blood entering them gives off the warmth of the venous (colder), and that, in turn, flows back to the body (back). Heat losses in this way are minimal.

Food

The basis of the menu of penguins is Antarctic silver, anchovies, sardines and crustaceans. Part they eat right under water, the rest - on land. Species that feed mainly on crustaceans have to spend much more energy on extraction. To fill the energy costs for diving alone, they should catch about two dozen crustaceans. Penguins, feeding mainly on fish, are much easier - they only have one successful dive out of ten. Duration of hunting for each species is different and largely depends on the season. For example, Imperial penguins can do more than 800 dives. But during the moulting and the expectation of the offspring, the birds have to give up food altogether. During this time about half the mass is lost. Penguins drink mostly seawater. Special glands located near the eyes, derive excess salt.

Reproduction

Why is the statement that a penguin is an animal can not be true? Evidence that this is a bird was cited earlier. As new arguments let us consider the process of reproduction. To begin with, penguins are not viviparous, they hatch eggs like all birds. They nest in colonies, tens of thousands of pairs. Both the incubation of eggs and the feeding of the toddlers are answered by both parents who periodically replace each other.

The statement that the penguin is a mammal, refutes the way of feeding. They feed on chicks not with milk, but with semi-digested fish and crustaceans, which belch out parents. In the lower folds of the abdomen, babies "dive" in order to hide from the cold, and not for the sake of a portion of milk, as some believe.

The onset of maturity depends on the gender and type of birds. Some mating is possible in two years (small, subantarctic), in others - a year later (Antarctic, imperial, royal), in the third - only after five years (golden-haired).