Classification and evolution of the African penguin
The African penguin is a small to medium-sized species of penguin found along the coast of South Africa and on a number of surrounding islands. The African penguin is believed to be most closely related to Humboldt and Magellanic penguins of southern South America, and to the Galápagos penguin found in the Pacific near near The Equator, the African penguin is also named for the fact that it is the only species of penguin that has been found breeding on the African coast, and it is one of the first penguin species discovered by humans.
Anatomy and appearance of the African penguin
The African penguin is a fairly distinct species with clean black and white markings and a sharply pointed black beak. It also has black feet and a number of dot-like markings mottled across its white chest which is said to be as unique to a single penguin as a human footprint, along with a stripe Black, narrow, male African penguins are usually slightly larger than their female counterparts, but both are somewhat similar in appearance. The most distinguishing feature of African penguins is that they have pink glands above their eyes that help them deal with temperate climates. The hotter the African penguin, the more blood is sent to these glands so that it can be cooled by the surrounding air, making these glands more pink.
African penguins are found on the southwestern coast of Africa, and live in 27 colonies on 24 islands between Namibia and the Gulf of Algoa, near Port Elizabeth, South Africa with the largest colony found on Dyer Island, near Kleinbay. African penguins are also densely distributed around cold waters. The nutrient-rich of the Benguela current where there is an abundant supply of food and although they spend most of their time at sea, African penguins congregate at nesting sites on rocky islands where they spend their days in sheltered burrows to avoid the scorching sun. They exist in non-freezing conditions and adapt to this by digging, emerging at dusk and dawn, and using the pink glands above
their eyes to cool the blood.
African penguin behavior and lifestyle
Like many other penguin species, African penguins are incredibly s
African penguin distribution and habitatocial birds, with adults forming pair bonds that last a lifetime (up to 10 years) and African penguins can often be seen grooming one another, which is not only practical for cleaning purposes, but Also to remove parasites and even simply rearrange their feathers, which constantly enhances the social bonds between the pair. Their courtship displays are often very noisy as the male and female penguin communicate with each other using a series of donkey-like sounds plus the African penguins are bathed only a few meters away. from the beach which she is believed to do regularly to clean herself and cool off in the heat.
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