Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes / sfɪˈnɪsɪfɔːrmiːz /, family Spheniscidae / sfɪˈnɪsɪdiː /) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere, with only one species, the Galápagos penguin, found north of the Equator.
A query we ran across in our research was “Are penguins ocean animals?”.
One source proposed penguins are birds of the ocean, spending up to 75 percent of their lives in the water. Some penguins, like the fiordland and rockhopper, have even been found with barnacles growing on their feathers!
Penguins are specialized marine birds adapted to living at sea. Some species spend as much as 75% of their lives in the sea – only coming ashore for breeding and molting. Penguin wings are paddle-like flippers used for swimming, not flying. Penguins have denser feathers than most other types of birds having as many as 70 feathers per square inch.
They spend roughly half of their lives on land and the other half in the sea. Although almost all penguin species are native to the Southern Hemisphere, they are not found only in cold climates, such as Antarctica. In fact, only a few species of penguin live so far south.
Is a penguin an aquatic dinosaur?
Penguins are definitely aquatic dinosaurs, but they’re not the only ones. The extinct hesperornithine birds of the Cretaceous were specially adapted for an aquatic lifestyle, some in shallow seas. They are quite similar to modern-day freshwater birds like grebes.
Flightless aquatic bird. Penguins (order Sphenisciformes, family Spheniscidae) are a group of aquatic, flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere, with only one species, the Galapagos penguin, found north of the equator.
How many species of penguins are there?
The number of existing penguin species is debated but thought to be between 17 and 20. Penguins are a group of aquatic birds and they have become highly adapted for life in the water. Their wings have become flippers meaning that they are flightless in the air but great swimmers and highly agile in water.