Emperor penguin map Aptenodytes forsteri Near threatened
Where the emperor penguin lives: an interactive map of recorded sightings worldwide.
Approximate range, based on recorded sightings. Shapes are drawn by World Animal Map from 1,525 wild occurrence records on GBIF (CC0/CC BY 4.0; captive and fossil records excluded, isolated outliers removed), grouped into 1° grid cells and clipped to land and nearby coastal waters. They show where the animal has been recorded, not an official range; gaps can simply mean no open data. Method · Records on GBIF
| Scientific name | Aptenodytes forsteri |
|---|---|
| Status | Near threatened (Wikidata, IUCN category label) |
| Mapped range layers | 1 |
| Records used | 1,525 wild occurrence records (GBIF, CC0/CC BY) |
| Group | Penguins |
Population
“In 2009, the total population of emperor penguins was estimated to be at around 595,000 adult birds.”
Source cited by Wikipedia: Fretwell PT, “An Emperor Penguin Population Estimate: The First Global, Synoptic Survey of a Species from Space”, PLOS ONE, 2012. Quoted from Wikipedia: Emperor penguin.
Interesting facts
- The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. [source]
- In 1994, a penguin from Auster rookery reached a depth of 564 m (1,850 ft); the entire dive took him 21.8 min. [source]
- The emperor is the only penguin species where the male alone incubates; in all other penguin species both parents take shifts incubating. [source]
About the emperor penguin
The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching 100 cm (39 in) in length and weighing from 22 to 45 kg (49 to 99 lb). Feathers of the head and back are black and sharply delineated from the white belly, pale-yellow breast and bright-yellow ear patches.
Like all species of penguin, the emperor is flightless, with a streamlined body, and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat. Its diet consists primarily of fish, but also includes crustaceans, such as krill, and cephalopods, such as squid. While hunting, the species can remain submerged around 20 minutes, diving to a depth of 535 m (1,755 ft). It has several adaptations to facilitate this, including an unusually structured haemoglobin to allow it to function at low oxygen levels, solid bones to reduce barotrauma, and the ability to reduce its metabolism and shut down non-essential organ functions.
Photos
Text in “About”, “Interesting facts” and “Population” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Emperor penguin (revision 1377089235), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: sentences excerpted verbatim, citations and formatting removed. No text added. Taxa and status: Wikidata Q161829 (CC0).
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