Sealife guideThe king penguinAptenodytes patagonicus

The king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus)

Taxonomy

Common name: King penguin
French name: Manchot royal
Scientific name: Aptenodytes patagonicus (Miller, 1778)
Family name: Spheniscidae
Order name: Sphenisciformes
Class name: The sea birds

Description

The king penguin has a blue-black body with a white belly and very light orange markings on its head. The king penguin stands about 33 to 37 inches tall and weighs between 26 to 31 pounds.

The king penguin looks just like the emperor penguin !

It's difficult to distinguish females from males, as there is no notable difference in their appearance.

Range

The king penguin is found in the Antarctic Ocean along the rocky coasts of the Kerguelen islands and Crozet islands, in the southern Atlantic Ocean on the Falkland islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, or in the Indian Ocean on Heard island and the McDonald islands.

Habitat

The king penguin lives on the rocky coasts of the southern Atlantic Ocean and the Antarctic Ocean. Unlike other penguin species, the king penguin does not build a nest.

Diet

It feeds on squid and fish which it hunts to depths of around 656 feet.

Reproduction

Around November, the king penguin lays its egg on its feet, which is covered by a flap of skin to protect it from the cold. The egg is incubated by both parents alternately for 55 days, hatching into a chick that will remain nestled on its parents' feet for some time. The chick stays with its parents for about 11 months, after which it is mature enough to fend for itself.

Did you know ?

The king penguin is threatened by climate change, which affects its foraging area.

The king penguin is the second-largest penguin species in the world, after the emperor penguin.

The king penguin closely resembles the emperor penguin but it is distinguished by its smaller size.

The king penguin is listed as many other marine species within The IUCN Red List of threatened species. The king penguin appears in the IUCN Red List since 2020 within the category Least Concern !

Within the same genus

Emperor penguin
(Aptenodytes forsteri)

Within the same family

Royal Penguin
(Eudyptes schlegeli)

Southern rockhopper penguin
(Eudyptes chrysocome)

Chinstrap penguin
(Pygoscelis antarcticus)

Yellow-eyed penguin
(Megadyptes antipodes)

Adelie penguin
(Pygoscelis adeliae)

Galapagos penguin
(Spheniscus mendiculus)

African penguin
(Spheniscus demersus)

Gentoo penguin
(Pygoscelis papua)

Explore also

Waved albatross
(Phoebastria irrorata)

Black-crowned night heron
(Nycticorax nycticorax)

Double-crested cormorant
(Phalacrocorax auritus)

Black-faced Cormorant
(Phalacrocorax fuscescens)

Horned puffin
(Fratercula corniculata)

Atlantic puffin
(Fratercula arctica)

Antarctic prion
(Pachyptila desolata)

Antarctic tern
(Sterna vittata)

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