The largest living species is the emperor penguin ( Aptenodytes forsteri): on average, adults are about 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) tall and weigh 35 kg (77 lb). They spend about half of their lives on land and the other half in the sea. A penguin has a spiny tongue and powerful jaws to grip slippery prey. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid and other forms of sea life which they catch with their bills and swallow whole while swimming. Highly adapted for life in the ocean water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage and flippers for swimming. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the order Sphenisciformes ( / s f ɪ ˈ n ɪ s ə f ɔːr m iː z/) of the family Spheniscidae ( / s f ɪ ˈ n ɪ s ɪ d iː, - d aɪ/). Penguin species of different genera from top-left, clockwise: Emperor penguin ( Aptenodytes forsteri), snares penguin ( Eudyptes robustus), little penguin ( Eudyptula minor), yellow-eyed penguin ( Megadyptes antipodes), gentoo penguin ( Pygoscelis papua), African penguin ( Spheniscus demersus)īreeding range of penguins, all species (aqua) some species have wider seasonal migration ranges Possible Cretaceous origin according to molecular data
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