---
title: "What the sources say about the Gentoo Penguin | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "59 claims from the Gentoo Penguin profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Gentoo Penguin (*Pygoscelis papua*)

> 59 claims from the Gentoo Penguin profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Gentoo Penguin](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/gentoo-penguin/)

## Pygoscelis papua (gentoo penguin). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Pygoscelis_papua/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The Animal Diversity Web ranks the gentoo penguin (*Pygoscelis papua*) third largest of 17 penguin species | Of the 17 penguin species, gentoo penguins are the third largest in size. (note: attributed to ADW: the species count is ADW's and varies with taxonomy) |
| An adult stands about 76 centimetres tall | They stand roughly at 76 centimeters when they reach adulthood. |
| weighs 4.5 to 8.5 kilograms, depending on the time of year | Depending on the time of the year, they can weigh anywhere from 4.5 to 8.5 kilograms. |
| It is found only in the Southern Hemisphere, between 45 and 65 degrees south | are exclusively found in the Southern Hemisphere between 45 and 65 degrees south latitude (note: 'only' paraphrases 'exclusively') |
| on the Antarctic Peninsula and many sub-Antarctic islands | gentoos are found on the Antarctic Peninsula as well as many sub-Antarctic islands |
| usually along the shoreline | Gentoo penguins typically are found along the shoreline. |
| Gentoos mainly eat fish, crustaceans and cephalopods | Gentoo penguins are carnivores and mainly consume fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods. |
| the mix changes with the time of year | Different times of the year mark different percentages of their diet. |
| Krill and shrimp make up most of the crustaceans | Krill ( Euphausia vallentini ) and shrimp ( Nauticaris marioni ) make up most of the crustacean diet. |
| the cephalopods are mainly octopus and sometimes small squid | The main types of cephalopods foraged on are octopi and sometimes small squid. |
| The bright dark-orange to red spot on each side of the gentoo's partly black bill is attributed to carotenoid pigments from the krill it eats | The beak of a gentoo is partially black but has a bright dark-orange to red spot on either side. The color of the spot is attributed to the carotenoids absorbed from the krill they eat. |
| Young chicks face a much greater risk of predation than adults | Young chicks are at much greater risk of predation than adults. |
| Brown skuas, the main predators of penguin chicks, mostly take chicks and eggs from the edge of a colony | Brown skuas ( Catharacta lonnbergi ) are the main predators of penguin chicks. Skuas mainly feed on the chicks and eggs found along the edge of the population |
| are less likely to attack chicks gathered in crèches, where one chick is hard to pick out of the group | Skuas are less likely to attack the crèches of gentoo chicks because it is hard to distinguish where one chick is within a group. |
| Leopard seals travel through the breeding grounds and attack penguins leaving and returning to the colony | Leopard seals ( Hydrurga leptonyx ) will travel in the gentoo breeding grounds and attack penguins leaving and returning to the colony. |
| A medium-sized gentoo nest can hold more than 1,700 pebbles | Medium-sized nests can contain over 1,700 pebbles. |
| shaped into a bowl with a wide rim and a hollow centre | The nest is bowl shaped with a wide edge and a hollow center. |
| Both parents build the nest | Both parents are involved in nest-building. |
| from small stones found around the nesting site, including stones stolen from other nests | Nests are made from small stones found around the nesting site, including stones stolen from other nests. |
| When one partner returns with a stone, the other bows repeatedly to accept it | when one returns to the breeding ground with a stone to use for the nest, the other will bow repeatedly to accept the stone |
| a display that likely helps strengthen the pair bond | These displays likely serve to strengthen the pair bond. |
| whose nest can hold over 1,700 pebbles | Medium-sized nests can contain over 1,700 pebbles. (note: tagline) |
| Shorelines of the Antarctic Peninsula and many sub-Antarctic islands | gentoos are found on the Antarctic Peninsula as well as many sub-Antarctic islands ... Gentoo penguins typically are found along the shoreline. (note: stats.habitat) |
| where small pebbles for nests are plentiful | The main feature of gentoo habitats is the prevalence of small pebbles, typically under 5 centimeters in diameter. (note: stats.habitat) |
| Fish such as rockcod and icefish, crustaceans such as krill and shrimp, and cephalopods, mostly octopus and sometimes small squid | mainly consume fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods ... Krill ( Euphausia vallentini ) and shrimp ( Nauticaris marioni ) make up most of the crustacean diet ... rockcod ( Notothenia squamifrons ) make up 90% of their diet, but they also consume unicorn icefish ( Channichthys rhinoceratus ) ... The main types of cephalopods foraged on are octopi and sometimes small squid. (note: stats.diet) |
| Molting takes a lot of energy, and while it lasts they can't forage at sea | Molting is an energy intensive event ... During this time, P. papau cannot make forages out to sea and must fast |
| For about 55 days beforehand, a gentoo makes frequent foraging trips and gorges to build up fat reserves, reaching its maximum weight of the year | They make frequent trips and rapidly gain weight to reach maximum mass at this point of the year. Molting is an energy intensive event, and penguins must gorge themselves to build up fat reserves. This pre-molt period lasts for around 55 days. |
| The molt itself lasts around 25 days, and the penguin fasts through it, losing about 200 grams a day | The actual molting stage lasts 25 days. During this time, P. papau cannot make forages out to sea and must fast, losing about 200 grams a day. |
| In the water, easily | gentoo penguins see excellently underwater, although they are impaired when on land |
| Their retinas are very sensitive to the greens, blues and purples seen underwater, where they see excellently | gentoo penguins see excellently underwater ... Their retinas are very sensitive to the colors seen underwater such as green, blue, and purple. |
| their vision is impaired on land and once they reach the surface | they are impaired when on land ... this vision becomes impaired once they reach the surface of the water. |
| A gentoo egg is spherical and greenish-white and weighs about 125 grams on average | The eggs are spherical and greenish-white ... on average egg weight is 125 grams. |
| Incubation takes about 35 days | The eggs are incubated for an average of 35 days before hatching. |
| the chick that hatches out weighs around 96 grams | The chicks are frail and weigh about 96 grams. |
| tags: antarctic | Within this range, gentoos are found on the Antarctic Peninsula as well as many sub-Antarctic islands. |
| when one partner returns to the nest with a stone, the other bows repeatedly to accept it | when one returns to the breeding ground with a stone to use for the nest, the other will bow repeatedly to accept the stone |

## AnAge entry for Pygoscelis papua. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Pygoscelis_papua

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The longest-lived gentoo in the AnAge longevity database is Olde, a female at Denmark's Odense Zoo, who reached 41 in captivity | Maximum longevity 41 years (captivity) ... The oldest penguin on record is "Olde" from the Odense Zoo that has lived for 41 years (note: female and Danish from the cited reference's title, '41-year-old penguin from Danish zoo breaks record with her extraordinary age'; scoped to the AnAge database (Build 15, 2023) rather than stated as a current record) |
| weightKg: 5.95 | Adult weight 5,950 g (note: ADW's range is 4.5 to 8.5 kg; both are Light (under 10 kg)) |

## Pygoscelis papua. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T22697755A157664581.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2020-3.rlts.t22697755a157664581.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The IUCN's 2020 Red List assessment covers them all as one species, *Pygoscelis papua* | Pygoscelis papua (Forster, 1781), IUCN taxon 22697755. (note: dated to the 2020 assessment the page cites, not a claim about current taxonomy) |
| and lists it as Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: read through GBIF's copy of the Red List) |

## Tyler et al. (2020). Morphometric and genetic evidence for four species of gentoo penguin. Ecology and Evolution.

https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6973

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A 2020 study of gentoos' genes and body measurements proposed splitting them into four species, one each in the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, the Kerguelen Islands, and the South Shetland Islands and western Antarctic Peninsula | We suggest the designation of four species of gentoo penguin: P. papua in the Falkland Islands, P. ellsworthi in the South Shetland Islands/Western Antarctic Peninsula, P. taeniata in Iles Kerguelen, and a new gentoo species P. poncetii, described herein, in South Georgia. (note: 'proposed' keeps the paper's 'suggest'; 2020 is the reference's year (Ecology and Evolution vol. 10, December 2020); the title is 'Morphometric and genetic evidence') |
| One Species or Four? | We suggest the designation of four species of gentoo penguin (note: heading; a question, keeping the split as a proposal) |
| which one 2020 study proposes splitting into four species | We suggest the designation of four species of gentoo penguin (note: tagline) |
| Not according to the study that proposed the split | particularly P. taeniata and P. poncetii, which both show evidence of decline |
| It flagged two of the four, the Kerguelen and South Georgia populations, as showing evidence of decline | P. taeniata in Iles Kerguelen, and a new gentoo species P. poncetii, described herein, in South Georgia ... We recommend reassessment by the IUCN of each species, particularly P. taeniata and P. poncetii, which both show evidence of decline. (note: the four are the proposed species; P. taeniata = Kerguelen, P. poncetii = South Georgia per the same paper) |
| recommended that the IUCN reassess each species | We recommend reassessment by the IUCN of each species |

## Clucas et al. (2014). A reversal of fortunes: climate change 'winners' and 'losers' in Antarctic Peninsula penguins. Scientific Reports.

https://doi.org/10.1038/srep05024

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A 2014 study reported that gentoos of the southern subspecies were expanding their range southward with current warming, as they had during the warming after the last ice age | Southern ( Pygoscelis papua ellsworthii ) gentoo sub-species ... Southern gentoo penguins are responding to current warming as they did during post-LGM warming, expanding their range southwards. (note: 'the last ice age' paraphrases the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)) |
| Adélie and chinstrap penguins had also expanded after the ice age, but were now declining on the Antarctic Peninsula | All three pygoscelid penguins responded positively to post-LGM warming by expanding from glacial refugia ... Adélie and chinstrap penguins are experiencing a 'reversal of fortunes' as they are now declining in the Antarctic Peninsula (note: past tense, dated to the 2014 study) |
| The authors called gentoos climate change "winners" and the other two "losers" | favoring generalist gentoo penguins as climate change 'winners', while Adélie and chinstrap penguins have become climate change 'losers'. |

## Williams et al. (1992). Diving pattern and performance in relation to foraging ecology in the gentoo penguin, Pygoscelis papua. Journal of Zoology.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1992.tb04818.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In a 1992 study that fitted depth recorders to nine gentoos | obtained using time-depth recorders ( n = 9 birds, 99 foraging trips) (note: abstract only; scope kept to the study's nine birds) |
| foraging trips averaged 6 hours while the parents were brooding chicks and 10 hours in the later crèche period | Foraging trip duration was 6 h and 10 h, and trip frequency 1.0/day and 0.96/day, during the brooding and creche periods, respectively. (note: 'later' from the same abstract: 'Foraging trip duration increased by 4 h between the brood and creche periods') |
| the birds spent on average 52% of each trip diving | Birds spent on average 52%of each foraging trip diving. |
| Their dives were strongly bimodal | Dive depth and duration were highly bimodal |
| Shallow dives, under 21 metres, averaged 4 metres and about 14 seconds | shallow dives (< 21 m) averaged 4 m and 0.23 min (note: 0.23 min x 60 = 13.8 s) |
| Deep dives, past 30 metres, averaged 80 metres and 2.5 minutes | deep dives (> 30 m) 80 m and 2.5 min |
| ran deeper at midday, averaging 80 to 90 metres, than at dawn and dusk, when they averaged 40 metres | Deep dives showed clear diel patterns averaging 40 m at dawn and dusk and 80–90 m at midday. |
| The authors suggest most shallow dives are for searching and most deep dives are for feeding | We suggest that most shallow dives are searching/exploratory dives and most deep dives are feeding dives. |
| A penguin whose tracked deep dives averaged 80 metres | deep dives (> 30 m) 80 m and 2.5 min (note: tagline) |
| Bimodal diving: in one tracking study, shallow dives averaged 4 metres and deep dives 80 metres | Dive depth and duration were highly bimodal: shallow dives (< 21 m) averaged 4 m and 0.23 min, and deep dives (> 30 m) 80 m and 2.5 min (note: stats.superpower) |