Aptenodytes
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 Emperor Penguins
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Aptenodytes patagonicus |
The genus Aptenodytes (from the Ancient Greek a/α 'without' pteno-/πτηνο- 'feather' or 'wing' and dytes/δυτης 'diver')[1] contains two extant species of penguins collectively known as "the great penguins".
- King Penguin, Aptenodytes patagonicus
- Emperor Penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri
Ridgen's Penguin (Aptenodytes ridgeni) is an extinct species known from fossil bones of Early or Late Pliocene age.
Molecular studies have shown the genus Aptenodytes be basal to all other living penguins, that is the genus split off from a branch which led to all other species. DNA evidence suggests this split occurred around 40 million years ago.[2] This had been foreshadowed by an attempt to classify penguins by their behaviour, which also predicted the genus' basal nature.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Liddell, Henry George and Robert Scott (1980). A Greek-English Lexicon (Abridged Edition). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-910207-4.
- ^ Baker AJ, Pereira SL, Haddrath OP, Edge KA (2006). "Multiple gene evidence for expansion of extant penguins out of Antarctica due to global cooling". Proc Biol Sci. 273 (1582): 11-17. doi:.
- ^ Jouventin P (1982). "Visual and vocal signals in penguins, their evolution and adaptive characters". Adv. ethol. 24: 1–149.
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