Gregory R. Mann, Ph.D.
Anatomy Fast Facts | Body Plan
Erect-Crested Penguins are 65 cm tall, on average, but males typically larger than females
Their average mass is 6000g
Their weight is highest just before molting when they average 6.5kg
Like all penguins, their mouths are particularly interesting. They don’t have taste buds; instead, their tongues have large keratinized bristles that grip krill and fatty, oily, Osteichthyes fish.
They have a complete digestive system.
Both male and female sexes exist making them dioecious.
Erect-Crested penguins can be identified by the following physical features
Dark, black heads, upper throats, and cheeks
A broad yellow stripe across their face that rises over their eyes to form the erect crest
Blue-black bodies, upper-parts, and tails
White under-parts
The dorsal side of their flippers are blue-black with white edges
The ventral side of their flippers are white with a black tip
Their beaks are long a slim with brown-orange coloring
Chicks have gray-brown down feathers with white under-parts
Juveniles have shorter crests than adults
Unlike flying birds, penguins do not have pneumatic bones.
Gregory R. Mann, Ph.D.
Physiological Systems
Erect-Crested penguins are endothermic, or warm-blooded. This means that their body temperature is regulated by metabolically generated heat. Ambient temperature does not affect their internal temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of mammals but is convergent in birds.
They display bilateral symmetry which means that their body can be divided in one plane into mirror-image halves. All animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides and anterior and posterior sides.
Erect-Crested Penguins utilize visual, tactile, acoustic, and chemical communication methods.
Reproductive Cycle
Breed in large colonies near Rockhopper Penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome).
Males return to the mating site several weeks before females to prepare for nesting which is flat and rocky, usually 70m above sea level. The female forms the nest by rotating on her breast and kicking dirt into place. The male secures the nest edges with mud, rocks, and grass (if any is available).
Before mating, male penguins court the females and fight for their territory.
Erect-Crested penguins are monotremes, meaning that they lay eggs. They do not gestate their young like other warm-blooded animals. They do, however, internally fertilize their eggs.
The colony lays its eggs in October for 3-5 days. During this time, the female fasts.
The clutch contains two eggs, one much larger than the other. Eggs are chalky pale blue or green before turning light brown. The first, smaller egg is usually not viable and only the second, larger egg hatches. The birth rates of the larger egg are quite high.
Since there is no gestational period for eggs, they are incubated for about 35 days by both males and females. After hatching, the males guard the nest for three to four weeks. The female leaves the nest to feed herself and her chick, who eats regurgitated food.
During the fledging period, usually in February, chicks leave their parents and enter adulthood. Because they mature so quickly, their age structure is almost entirely adults.
Demography shows that clutches are born in season-specific times which means that death rates tend to be constant when they die of natural causes.
American Museum of Natural History
Paul Sagar
Citations
Burchman, J. (2001). Eudyptes sclateri (erect-crested penguin). Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Eudyptes_sclateri/.
Mann, G. R. (2019, January 27). Erect-crested Penguin. "OCEAN TREASURES" Memorial Library. https://otlibrary.com/erect-crested-penguin/.
OCEAN Find Your Blue. (2018, May 18). Penguin Tongue. Smithsonian Ocean. https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/seabirds/penguin-tongue.