| Erect-crested Penguin | |
|---|---|
| Eudyptes sclateri (right) | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Sphenisciformes |
| Family: | Spheniscidae |
| Genus: | Eudyptes |
| Species: | E. sclateri |
| Binomial name | |
| Eudyptes sclateri Buller, 1888 |
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The Erect-crested Penguin (Eudyptes sclateri) is a penguin from New Zealand. It breeds on the Bounty and Antipodes Islands.
This is a small-to-medium-sized, yellow-crested, black-and-white penguin, at 50–70 cm (20–28 in) and weighing 2.5–6 kg (5.5–13 lb). As in all penguin species, the male is slightly larger than the female and the birds weigh the most prior to moulting.[1][2][3] It has bluish-black to jet black upperparts and white underparts, and a broad, bright yellow eyebrow-stripe which extends over the eye to form a short, erect crest.
Its biology is poorly studied and only little information about the species has emerged in the past decades. Erect-crested Penguins nest in large colonies on rocky terrain. It presumably feeds on mainly krill and squid like other crested penguin species.
The binomial commemorates the British zoologist Philip Lutley Sclater.
This species is threatened by population decline, and a small breeding range restricted to two locations. The current population is estimated at 154,000. In addition to being listed as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List,[4] the Erect-crested Penguin is listed as endangered and granted protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.[5]
The mascot character of the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion is an erect-crested penguin named Pen Pen.
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