Thursday, September 18, 2014

The emperor penguin

The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching 122 cm (48 in) in height and weighing anywhere from 22 to 45 kg (49 to 99 lb). French Macaron Pillow ,Creative Cushion - Matty's The dorsal side and head are black and sharply delineated from the white belly, pale-yellow breast and bright-yellow ear patches. Like all penguins it is flightless, with a streamlined body, and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marinehabitat. French Macaron Pillow ,Creative Cushion - Matty's Its diet consists primarily of fish, but can also include crustaceans, such as krill, and cephalopods, such as squid. In hunting, the species can remain submerged up to 18 minutes, diving to a depth of 535 m (1,755 ft). It has several adaptations to facilitate this, including an unusually structured hemoglobin to allow it to function at low oxygen levels, SONY VAIO PCG-6Q1L CPU Fan

solid bones to reduce barotrauma, and the ability to reduce its metabolism and shut down non-essential organ functions.

The only penguin species that breeds during the Antarctic winter, emperor penguins trek 50–120 km (31–75 mi) over the ice tobreeding colonies which may include thousands of individuals. SONY VAIO VGN-C2S Series Laptop Keyboard The female lays a single egg, which is incubated by the male while the female returns to the sea to feed; parents subsequently take turns foraging at sea and caring for their chick in the colony. The lifespan is typically 20 years in the wild, although observations suggest that some individuals may live to 50 years of age. SAMSUNG N150 Laptop Keyboard HP Pavilion DV9243EA Laptop Keyboard Emperor penguins were described in 1844 by English zoologist George Robert Gray, who created the generic name from Ancient Greekword elements, ἀ-πτηνο-δύτης [a-ptēno-dytēs], "without-wings-diver". Its specific name is in honour of the German naturalistJohann Reinhold Forster, who accompanied Captain James Cook on his second voyage and officially named five other penguin species.[2] FUJITSU Lifebook E8110 Laptop Keyboard

Forster may have been the first person to sight the penguins in 1773–74; he recorded a sighting of what he believed to be A. patagonicus but, given the location, may well have been A. forsteri.[3]

Together with the similarly coloured but smaller king penguin (A. patagonicus), the emperor penguin is one of two extant species in the genus AptenodytesLenovo 3000 Y500 Laptop Keyboard Fossil evidence of a third species—Ridgen's penguin (A. ridgeni)—has been found in fossil records from the late Pliocene, about three million years ago, in New Zealand.[4] Studies of penguin behaviour and genetics have proposed that the genus Aptenodytes is basal; in other words, that it split off from a branch which led to all other living penguin species.[5] HP Pavilion DV8310CA Laptop Keyboard

Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA evidence suggests this split occurred around 40 million years ago.

Adult emperor penguins stand up to 110–130 cm (43–51 in) tall.[7] The weight ranges from 22.7 to 45.4 kg (50 to 100 lb) and varies by sex, with males weighing more than females. It is the fifth heaviest living bird species, after only the larger varieties ofratite.[8]  Lenovo 0A62039 Laptop Keyboard The weight also varies by season, as both male and female penguins lose substantial mass while raising hatchlings andincubating their egg. A male emperor penguin must withstand the Antarctic cold for more than two months to protect his egg from extreme cold. During this entire time he doesn't eat anything. DELL Vostro 3450 Laptop Keyboard

Most male penguins will lose about 12 kg (26 lb) while they wait for their chicks to hatch.[9] The mean weight of males at the start of the breeding season is 38 kg (84 lb) and that of females is 29.5 kg (65 lb). After the breeding season this drops to 23 kg (51 lb) for both sexes.[10][11][12]

Like all penguin species, emperor penguins have streamlined bodies to minimize drag while swimming, and wings that are more like stiff, flat flippers.[13 TOSHIBA Mini NB 505-SP0160 Laptop Keyboard ] The tongue is equipped with rear-facing barbs to prevent prey from escaping when caught.[14] Males and females are similar in size and colouration.[10] The adult has deep black dorsal feathers, covering the head, chin, throat, back, dorsal part of the flippers, and tail. The black plumage is sharply delineated from the light-coloured plumage elsewhere.  Lenovo 3000 G530 4151 Laptop Keyboard The underparts of the wings and belly are white, becoming pale yellow in the upper breast, while the ear patches are bright yellow. The upper mandible of the 8 cm (3 in) long bill is black, and the lower mandible can be pink, orange or lilac.[15] In juveniles, the auricular patches, chin and throat are white, while its bill is black.[15] SAMSUNG N150 Laptop Keyboard Emperor penguin chicks are typically covered with silver-greydown and have black heads and white masks.[15] A chick with all-white plumage was found in 2001, but was not considered to be an albino as it did not have pink eyes.[16] Chicks weigh around 315 g (11 oz) after hatching, and fledge when they reach about 50% of adult weight.[17] HP G61-400SP Laptop Keyboard The emperor penguin's dark plumage fades to brown from November until February (the Antarctic summer), before the yearly moult in January and February.[15] Moulting is rapid in this species compared with other birds, taking only around 34 days. Emperor penguin feathers emerge from the skin after they have grown to a third of their total length, and before old feathers are lost, to help reduce heat loss. COMPAQ Presario CQ40-133TU Laptop Keyboard

New feathers then push out the old ones before finishing their growth.[18]

The average yearly survival rate of emperor penguins has been measured at 95.1%, with an average life expectancy of 19.9 years. The same researchers estimated that 1% of emperor penguins hatched could feasibly reach an age of 50 years.[19] HP 317443-001 Laptop Keyboard

In contrast, only 19% of chicks survive their first year of life.[20] Therefore, 80% of the emperor penguin population comprises adults five years and older.

As the species has no fixed nest sites that individuals can use to locate their own partner or chick, emperor penguins must rely on vocal calls alone for identification.[21]  HP HDX18-1200 CTO Laptop Keyboard They use a complex set of calls that are critical to individual recognition between parents, offspring, and mates,[10] displaying the widest variation in individual calls of all penguins.[21] Vocalizing emperor penguins use two frequency bands simultaneously.[22] Chicks use a frequency-modulated whistle to beg for food and to contact parents.  DELL Vostro 1014 Laptop Keyboard The emperor penguin breeds in the coldest environment of any bird species; air temperatures may reach −40 °C (−40 °F), and wind speeds may reach 144 km/h (89 mph). Water temperature is a frigid −1.8 °C (28.8 °F), which is much lower than the emperor penguin's average body temperature of 39 °C (102 °F). The species has adapted in several ways to counteract heat loss.[23] SONY Vaio PCG-K215S Laptop Keyboard Feathers provide 80–90% of its insulation, and it has a layer of sub-dermal fat which may be up to 3 cm (1.2 in) thick before breeding.[24] This resultant blubber layer impedes the mobility of emperor penguins on land compared to their less well fat-insulated cousins, the Magellanic penguins.[25] Its stiff feathers are short, lanceolate (spear-shaped), and densely packed over the entire skin surface. TOSHIBA Mini NB 300 Series Laptop Keyboard With around 100 feathers covering one square inch (15 feathers per cm2), it has the highest feather density of any bird species.[26] An extra layer of insulation is formed by separate shafts of downy filaments between feathers and skin. Muscles allow the feathers to be held erect on land, reducing heat loss by trapping a layer of air next to the skin. TOSHIBA K000098730 Laptop Keyboard

Conversely, the plumage is flattened in water, thus waterproofing the skin and the downy underlayer.[27] Preening is vital in facilitating insulation and in keeping the plumage oily and water-repellent.[28]The emperor penguin is able to thermoregulate (maintain its core body temperature) without altering its metabolism, over a wide range of temperatures. GATEWAY NV-54 Laptop Keyboard

Known as the thermoneutral range, this extends from −10 to 20 °C (14 to 68 °F). Below this temperature range, its metabolic rate increases significantly, although an individual can maintain its core temperature from 38.0 °C (100.4 °F) down to −47 °C (−53 °F).[29] Movement by swimming, walking, and shivering are three mechanisms for increasing metabolism; a fourth process involves an increase in the breakdown of fats by enzymes, which is induced by the Lenovo 3000 G530 4151 Laptop Keyboard hormone glucagon.[30] At temperatures above 20 °C (68 °F), an emperor penguin may become agitated as its body temperature and metabolic rate rise to increase heat loss. Raising its wings and exposing the undersides increases the exposure of its body surface to the air by 16%, facilitating further heat loss. SONY VAIO VGN-SZ750N/C Laptop Keyboard In addition to the cold, the emperor penguin encounters another stressful condition on deep dives—markedly increased pressure of up to 40 times that of the surface, which in most other terrestrial organisms would cause barotrauma. The bones of the penguin are solid rather than air-filled,[32] which eliminates the risk of mechanical barotrauma. Lenovo 45N2106 Laptop Keyboard While diving, the emperor penguin's oxygen use is markedly reduced, as its heart rate is reduced to as low as 15–20 beats per minute and non-essential organs are shut down, thus facilitating longer dives.[14] Its hemoglobin and myoglobin are able to bind and transport oxygen at low blood concentrations; SAMSUNG R522 laptop keyboard

this allows the bird to function with very low oxygen levels that would otherwise result in loss of consciousness.

The emperor penguin has a circumpolar distribution in the Antarctic almost exclusively between the 66° and 77° south latitudes.  Lenovo 45N2141 laptop keyboard It almost always breeds on stable pack ice near the coast and up to 18 km (11 mi) offshore.[10] Breeding colonies are usually located in areas where ice cliffs and icebergs shelter them from the wind.[10] Three land colonies have been reported: one (now disappeared) on a shingle spit at the Dion Islands on the Antarctic Peninsula,[34] HP Pavilion dv6-2133ee laptop keyboard

one on a headland atTaylor Glacier in the Australian Antarctic Territory,[35] and most recently one at Amundsen Bay.[3] Since 2009, a number of colonies have been reported on shelf icerather than sea ice, in some cases moving to the shelf in years when sea ice forms late.[36]

The northernmost breeding population is on Snow Island, near the northern tip of the Peninsula.[3] HP COMPAQ NX6320 laptop keyboard

 Individual vagrants have been recorded on Heard Island,[37] South Georgia,[38] and in New Zealand.[12][39]The total population was estimated in 2009 to be at around 595,000 adult birds, in 46 known colonies spread around the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic; around 35% of the known population lives north of the Antarctic Circle. ASUS X85S laptop keyboard

breeding colonies were located at Cape Washington, Coulman Island in Victoria Land, Halley, Cape Colbeck, and Dibble Glacier.[40] Colonies are known to fluctuate over time, often breaking into "suburbs" which move apart from the parent group, and some have been known to disappear entirely.[3] SONY VAIO VGN-N31Z/W laptop keyboard The Cape Crozier colony on the Ross Sea dropped drastically in size between the first visits by the Discovery Expedition in 1902-03 and the later visits by the Terra Nova Expedition in 1910–11; it was reduced to a few hundred birds, and may have come close to extinction due to changes in the position of the ice shelf.[41] ASUS X85S laptop keyboard

By the 1960s it had rebounded dramatically,[41] but by 2009 was again reduced to a small population of around 300.

In 2012 the emperor penguin was uplisted from a species of least concern to near threatened by the IUCN.Along with nine other species of penguin, it is currently under consideration for inclusion under the US Endangered Species Act.  SONY VAIO VGN-N31Z/W laptop keyboard The primary reasons for this are declining food availability due to the effects of climate change and industrial fisheries on the crustacean and fish populations. Other reasons for their potential placement on this list include disease, habitat destruction, and disturbance at breeding colonies by humans. Of particular concern is the impact of tourism.[43] ASUS X53S laptop keyboard

One study has shown emperor penguin chicks in a crèche become more apprehensive following helicopter approach to 1,000 m (3,281 ft).[44]

Population declines of 50% in the Terre Adélie region have been observed due to increased adult mortality, especially of males, during an abnormally prolonged warm period in the late 1970s, which resulted in reduced sea-ice coverage.  LENOVO AEQA1STU010 laptop keyboard On the other hand, egg hatching success rates declined when the sea-ice extent increased. The species is therefore considered to be highly sensitive to climatic changes.[45] In 2009, the heavily-studied Dion Islands colony, first reported in 1948, was reported to have disappeared at some point over the previous decade, the first confirmed loss of a colony.[46] ASUS X53S laptop keyboard A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution study in January 2009 found that emperor penguins could be pushed to the brink of extinction by the year 2100 due to global climate change. By applying mathematical models to predict how the loss of sea ice from climate warming would affect a big colony of emperor penguins at Terre Adélie,  Lenovo 3000 G530 4151 laptop keyboard

 Antarctica, they forecast a decline of 87% in the colony's population by the end of the century, from the current 3,000 breeding pairs in the colony to 400 breeding pairs.[47]

Another study[48] by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in June 2014, confirmed that emperor penguins are at risk from global warming which is melting sea ice. COMPAQ Presario CQ40-133TU laptop keyboard

By 2100, they predict that all 45 species of emperor penguins will be declining in numbers, mostly due to loss of habitat. Loss of ice leads to reduction in the supply of Krill, primary food for emperor penguins.

The emperor penguin is a social animal in its nesting and its foraging behaviour; birds hunting together may coordinate their diving and surfacing.[49] Lenovo 3000 Y500 laptop keyboard Individuals may be active day or night. A mature adult travels throughout most of the year between the nesting area and ocean foraging areas; the species disperses into the oceans from January to March.[12] HP Mini 110-3519la laptop keyboard The American physiologist Gerry Kooyman revolutionized the study of penguin foraging behaviour in 1971 when he published his results from attaching automatic dive-recording devices to emperor penguins. He found that the species reaches depths of 265 m (869 ft), with dive periods of up to 18 minutes.[49] HP COMPAQ 486654-001 laptop keyboard Later research revealed a small female had dived to a depth of 535 m (1,755 ft) near McMurdo Sound. It is possible that emperor penguins can dive even deeper, as the accuracy of the recording devices is diminished at greater depths.[50] Further study of one bird's diving behaviour revealed regular dives to 150 m (490 ft) in water around 900 m (3,000 ft) deep, SONY VAIO VGN-C2S Series laptop keyboard and shallow dives of less than 50 m (160 ft), interspersed with deep dives of more than 400 m (1,300 ft) in depths of 450 to 500 m (1,480 to 1,640 ft).[51] This was suggestive of feeding near or at the sea bottom.Both male and female emperor penguins forage for food up to 500 km (311 mi) from colonies while collecting food to feed chicks, covering 82–1,454 km (51–903 mi) per individual per trip. SONY VAIO VGN-CS17G/R laptop keyboard

A male returning to the sea after incubation heads directly out to areas of permanent open water, known as polynyas, around 100 km (62 mi) from the colony.[51]

An efficient swimmer, the emperor penguin exerts pressure with both its upward and downward strokes while swimming.[26] TOSHIBA Satellite L755-S5357 laptop keyboard The upward stroke works against buoyancy and helps maintain depth.[53] Its average swimming speed is 6–9 km/h (4–6 mph).[54] On land, the emperor penguin alternates between walking with a wobbling gait and tobogganing—sliding over the ice on its belly, propelled by its feet and wing-like flippers. Like all penguins, it is flightless.[13] SONY N860-7676-T101 laptop keyboard The emperor penguin is a very powerful bird. In one case, a crew of six men, trying to capture a single male penguin for a zoo collection, were repeatedly tossed around and knocked over before all of the men had to collectively tackle the bird, which weighs about half as much as human male.DELL E141395 laptop keyboard As a defence against the cold, a colony of emperor penguins forms a compact huddle (also known as the turtle formation) ranging in size from ten to several hundred birds, with each bird leaning forward on a neighbour. As the wind chill is the least severe in the center of the colony, all the juveniles are usually huddled there. HP 518965-001 laptop keyboard

Those on the outside upwind tend to shuffle slowly around the edge of the formation and add themselves to its leeward edge, producing a slow churning action, and giving each bird a turn on the inside and on the outside.

The emperor penguin's diet consists mainly of fish, crustaceans and cephalopods,[58] although its composition varies from population to population. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 laptop keyboard Fish are usually the most important food source, and the Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarcticum) makes up the bulk of the bird's diet. Other prey commonly recorded include other fish of the family Nototheniidae, the glacial squid (Psychroteuthis glacialis), and the hooked squid species Kondakovia longimana, as well as Antarctic krill(Euphausia superba).[52] LENOVO IdeaPad S10 20015 laptop keyboard The emperor penguin searches for prey in the open water of the Southern Ocean, in either ice-free areas of open water or tidal cracks in pack ice.[10] One of its feeding strategies is to dive to around 50 m (164 ft), where it can easily spot sympagic fish like the bald notothen (Pagothenia borchgrevinki) swimming against the bottom surface of the sea-ice;  DELL Inspiron N4050 laptop keyboard

it swims up to the bottom of the ice and catches the fish. It then dives again and repeats the sequence about half a dozen times before surfacing to breathe.The emperor penguin's predators include birds and aquatic mammals. Southern giant petrels (Macronectes giganteus) are the predominant land predator of chicks, responsible for up to 34% of chick deaths in some colonies though they often scavenge dead penguins as well. HP Mini 1151NR laptop keyboard

The south polar skua (Stercorarius maccormicki) mainly scavenges for dead chicks, as the live chicks are too large to be attacked by the time of its annual arrival in the colony.[60] Occasionally, a parent may defend their chick from attack, although it may be more passive if the chick is sickly.[61]

The only known predators thought to attack healthy adults, and who attack emperor penguins in the water, are both mammals.  SONY KFRMBA220A laptop keyboard The first is the leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), which takes some adult birds, as well as fledglings soon after they enter the water.[28] Orcas (Orcinus orca), mostly take adult birds, although they will attack penguins of any age in or near water.[61] If one of a breeding pair dies or is killed during the breeding season, the surviving parent must abandon its egg or young and go back to the sea to feed. HP Pavilion DV7-3078nr laptop keyboard Emperor penguins are able to breed at around three years of age, and usually commence breeding around one to three years later.[17] The yearly reproductive cycle begins at the start of the Antarctic winter, in March and April, when all mature emperor penguins travel to colonial nesting areas, often walking 50 to 120 km (31 to 75 mi) inland from the edge of the pack ice.[62] Toshiba Satellite L550-20W CPU Fan

The start of travel appears to be triggered by decreasing day lengths; emperor penguins in captivity have been induced successfully into breeding by using lighting systems mimicking seasonal Antarctic day lengths.

The penguins start courtship in March or April, when the temperature can be as low as −40 °C (−40 °F). SONY Vaio VPC-EB3E1R/BQ CPU Fan A lone male gives an ecstatic display, where it stands still and places its head on its chest before inhaling and giving a courtship call for 1–2 seconds; it then moves around the colony and repeats the call. A male and female then stand face to face, with one extending its head and neck up and the other mirroring it; they both hold this posture for several minutes. Dell Precision M4500 CPU Fan

Once in pairs, couples waddle around the colony together, with the female usually following the male. Before copulation, one bird bows deeply to its mate, its bill pointed close to the ground, and its mate then does the same.[64]

Emperor penguins are serially monogamous. They have only one mate each year, and stay faithful to that mate. However, fidelity between years is only about 15%.[64HP G71-340US CPU Fan

] The narrow window of opportunity available for mating appears to be an influence, as there is a priority to mate and breed which often precludes waiting for the appearance of the previous year's partner.

The female penguin lays one 460–470 g (1 lb) egg in May or early June;[64] it is vaguely pear-shaped, pale greenish-white, and measures around 12 × 8 cm (4¾ x 3 in).[6Toshiba Satellite L675D-S7016 CPU Fan

2] It represents just 2.3% of its mother's body weight, making it one of the smallest eggs relative to the maternal weight in any bird species.[66] 15.7% of the weight of an emperor penguin egg is shell; like those of other penguin species, the shell is relatively thick, which minimises risk of breakage.[67]

After laying, the mother's nutritional reserves are exhausted and she very carefully transfers the egg to the male, before immediately returning to the sea for two months to feed.[62HP Pavilion dv5-2135dx CPU Fan ] The transfer of the egg can be awkward and difficult, and many couples drop the egg in the process. When this happens, the chick inside is quickly lost, as the egg cannot withstand the freezing temperatures on the icy ground. The male spends the winter incubating the egg in his brood pouch, balancing it on the tops of his feet, for 64 consecutive days until hatching.[6HP Envy 17-3000er CPU Fan 4] The emperor penguin is the only species where this behaviour is observed; in all other penguin species both parents take shifts incubating.[68] By the time the egg hatches, the male will have fasted for around 115 days since arriving at the colony.[64] To survive the cold and winds of up to 200 km/h (120 mph), the males huddle together, taking turns in the middle of the huddle.  HP Envy 17 Series CPU Fan

They have also been observed with their backs to the wind to conserve body heat. In the four months of travel, courtship, and incubation, the male may lose as much as 20 kg (44 lb), from around 38 kg to just 18 kg (84 lb to 40 lb).[69][70]

Hatching may take as long as two or three days to complete, as the shell of the egg is thick. HP 532614-001 CPU Fan Newly hatched chicks are semi-altricial, covered with only a thin layer of down and entirely dependent on their parents for food and warmth.[71] If the chick hatches before the mother's return, the father feeds it a curd-like substance composed of 59% protein and 28% lipid, which is produced by a gland in his esophagus.[72] HP Envy 17-3000er CPU Fan

 The young chick is brooded in what is called the guard phase, spending time balanced on its parent's feet and sheltered in the brood pouch.

The female penguin returns at any time from hatching to ten days afterwards, from mid-July to early August.[62] HP 532614-001 CPU Fan She finds her mate among the hundreds of fathers by his vocal call and takes over caring for the chick, feeding it by regurgitating the food that she has stored in her stomach. The male then leaves to take his turn at sea, spending around 24 days there before returning.[62] The parents then take turns, one brooding while the other forages at sea.[64] HP 532614-001 CPU Fan About 45–50 days after hatching, the chicks form a crèche, huddling together for warmth and protection. During this time, both parents forage at sea and return periodically to feed their chicks.[71] A crèche may comprise up to several thousand birds densely packed together and is essential for surviving the low Antarctic temperatures.[73]  HP KSB06105HA CPU Fan From early November, chicks begin moulting into juvenile plumage, which takes up to two months and is often not completed by the time they leave the colony; adults cease feeding them during this time. All birds make the considerably shorter trek to the sea in December or January and spend the rest of the summer feeding there. HP 493001-001 CPU Fan The species has been bred outside Antarctica at SeaWorld San Diego; more than 20 individuals have hatched there since 1980.[75][76]Considered a flagship species, 55 individuals were counted in captivity in North American zoos and aquaria in 1999.[77] The species is kept in captivity in only two places in the world. Toshiba BFB0605HA CPU Fan In June 2011, a juvenile emperor penguin was found on the beach at Peka Peka, north of Wellington in New Zealand. He had been consuming 3 kg of sand, which he had mistaken for snow, as well as sticks and stones, and had to undergo a number of operations to remove these and save his life. HP Pavilion dv5-1174ca CPU Fan Following recovery, on 4 September, the juvenile, named "Happy Feet" (after the name of the 2006 film), was fitted with a tracking device and released into the Southern Ocean 80 km north of Campbell Island.[79][80][81] However, 8 days later scientists lost contact with the bird, suggesting that the transmitter had fallen off (considered likely) or that he had been eaten by a predator (considered less likely). Toshiba Satellite A110-101 CPU Fan The species' unique life cycle in such a harsh environment has been described in print and visual media. Apsley Cherry-Garrard, the Antarctic explorer, said: "Take it all in all, I do not believe anybody on Earth has a worse time than an emperor penguin".[83] Widely distributed in cinemas in 2005, the French documentary La Marche de l'empereur, HP Pavilion dv5-1174ca CPU Fan which was also released with the English title March of the Penguins, told the story of the penguins' reproductive cycle.[78][84] The subject has been covered for the small screen three times by the BBC and presenter David Attenborough, first in episode five of the 1993 series on the Antarctic Life in the Freezer,[85HP 535442-001 CPU Fan

] again in the 2006 series Planet Earth,[86] and finally Frozen Planet in 2011.[87]

The computer-animated movie Happy Feet (2006) features emperor penguins as its primary characters, with one in particular that loves to dance; although a comedy, it too depicts their life cycle and promotes an underlying serious environmental message of threats from global warming and depletion of food sources by overfishing.[ HP Pavilion dv6-3049tx CPU Fan The computer-animated movie Surf's Up (2007) features a surfing emperor penguin named Zeke "Big-Z" Topanga.[89] More than 30 countries have depicted the bird on their stamps – Australia, Great Britain, Chile and France have each issued several.[90] It has also been depicted on a 1962 10 franc stamp as part of an Antarctic expedition series.[91] ACER Aspire 5730Z Series CPU Fan

Canadian band The Tragically Hip included a song "Emperor Penguin" on their 1998 album Phantom Power.

Ancient Greek is the form of Greek used during the periods of time spanning c. the 9th – 6th century BC (known asArchaic), c. the 5th – 4th century BC (Classical), and c. the 3rd century BC – 6th century AD (Hellenistic) in ancient Greece and the ancient world.  HP KSB06105HA CPU Fan It was predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek. The language of the Hellenistic phase is known as Koine (common) or Biblical Greek, while the language from the late period onward features no considerable differences from Medieval Greek. Koine is regarded as a separate historical stage of its own, although in its earlier form, it closely resembled the Classical. HP Pavilion dv5-2135dx CPU Fan

Prior to the Koine period, Greek of the classic and earlier periods included several regional dialects.

Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of classical Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a standard subject of study in educational institutions of theWest since the Renaissance. Toshiba Satellite L650-1MT CPU Fan

This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical phases of the language.

The origins, early form and development of the Hellenic language family are not well understood because of the lack of contemporaneous evidence. There are several theories about what Hellenic dialect groups that may have existed between the divergence of early Greek-like speech from the common Proto-Indo-European language. SONY Vaio VGN-NW350F CPU Fan

They have the same general outline but differ in some of the detail. The only attested dialect from this period[2] is Mycenaean, but its relationship to the historical dialects and the historical circumstances of the times imply that the overall groups already existed in some form.

The major dialect groups of the Ancient Greek period can be assumed to have developed not later than 1120 BC, at the time of the Dorian invasion(s), Toshiba Satellite M35X-S329 CPU Fan and their first appearances as precise alphabetic writing began in the 8th century BC. The invasion would not be "Dorian" unless the invaders had some cultural relationship to the historical Dorians; moreover, the invasion is known to have displaced population to the later Attic-Ionic regions, who regarded themselves as descendants of the population displaced by or contending with the Dorians. SONY Vaio VGN-TX2XP/B CPU Fan The Greeks of this period believed there were three major divisions of all Greek people—Dorians, Aeolians, and Ionians (including Athenians), each with their own defining and distinctive dialects. Allowing for their oversight of Arcadian, an obscure mountain dialect, and Cyprian, far from the center of Greek scholarship, this division of people and language is quite similar to the results of modern archaeological-linguistic investigation.  LENOVO IdeaPad S10 20015 Laptop Keyboard

West vs. non-west Greek is the strongest marked and earliest division, with non-west in subsets of Ionic-Attic (or Attic-Ionic) and Aeolic vs. Arcado-Cyprian, or Aeolic and Arcado-Cyprian vs. Ionic-Attic. Often non-west is called East Greek.

The Arcado-Cyprian group apparently descended more closely from the Mycenaean Greek of the Bronze Age. DELL Vostro 3550 Laptop Keyboard

Boeotian had come under a strong Northwest Greek influence, and can in some respects be considered a transitional dialect. Thessalian likewise had come under Northwest Greek influence, though to a lesser degree.

Pamphylian, spoken in a small area on the south-western coast of Asia Minor and little preserved in inscriptions, may be either a fifth major dialect group, or it is Mycenaean Greek overlaid by Doric, with a non-Greek native influence. TOSHIBA PK130260100 Laptop Keyboard Ancient Macedonian was an Indo-European language closely related to Greek, but its exact relationship is unclear because of insufficient data: possibly a dialect of Greek; a sibling language to Greek; or a close cousin to Greek, and perhaps related to some extent, to Thracian and Phrygian languages. Lenovo 45N2205 Laptop Keyboard

The Pella curse tablet is one of many finds that support the idea that the Ancient Macedonian language is closely related to the Doric Greek dialect.

Most of the dialect sub-groups listed above had further subdivisions, generally equivalent to a city-state and its surrounding territory, or to an island. HP 636376-001 Laptop Keyboard

Doric notably had several intermediate divisions as well, into Island Doric (including Cretan Doric), Southern Peloponnesus Doric (including Laconian, the dialect ofSparta), and Northern Peloponnesus Doric (including Corinthian).

The Lesbian dialect was a member of the Aegean/Asiatic Aeolic sub-group. HP Pavilion dv6-2112sa Laptop Keyboard

All the groups were represented by colonies beyond Greece proper as well, and these colonies generally developed local characteristics, often under the influence of settlers or neighbors speaking different Greek dialects.

The dialects outside the Ionic group are known mainly from inscriptions, HP 517865-031 Laptop Keyboard

notable exceptions being fragments of the works of the poetess Sappho from the island ofLesbos and the poems of the Boeotian poet, Pindar.

After the conquests of Alexander the Great in the late 300's BC, a new international dialect known as Koine or Common Greek developed, largely based on Attic Greek, but with influence from other dialects. HP Compaq NC8430 Laptop Keyboard This dialect slowly replaced most of the older dialects, although Doric dialect has survived to the present in the form of the Tsakonian dialect of Modern Greek, spoken in the region of modern Sparta. Doric has also passed down its aorist terminations into most verbs of Demotic Greek. By about the 500's AD, the Koine had slowly metamorphosized into Medieval Greek. SAMSUNG NP-N102-JA01DX Laptop Keyboard Greek, like all of the older Indo-European languages, is highly inflected. It is highly archaic in its preservation of Proto-Indo-European forms. In Ancient Greek nouns (including proper nouns) have five cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative andvocative), three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter), and three numbers (singular, dual and plural). DELL V119525BS1 Laptop Keyboard Verbs have four moods(indicative, imperative, subjunctive, and optative), three voices (active, middle and passive), as well as three persons (first, second and third) and various other forms. Verbs are conjugated through seven combinations of tenses and aspect (generally simply called "tenses"): the present, future and imperfect are imperfective in aspect; TOSHIBA Satellite P500 Laptop Keyboard

the aorist (perfective aspect); a present perfect,pluperfect and future perfect. Most tenses display all four moods and three voices, although there is no future subjunctive or imperative. Also, there is no imperfect subjunctive, optative or imperative. There are infinitives and participles corresponding to the finite combinations of tense, aspect and voice.  Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 Laptop Keyboard

The leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), also referred to as the sea leopard, is the second largest species of seal in theAntarctic (after the southern elephant seal). It is most common in the Southern Hemisphere along the coast of Antarctica and on most sub-Antarctic islands, but can also be found on the coasts of southern Australia, TOSHIBA Satellite L300 Laptop Keyboard

 Tasmania, South Africa, New Zealand, Lord Howe Island, Tierra del Fuego, the Cook Islands, and the Atlantic coast of South America. It can live 26 years, possibly more.[3]

Leopard seals are predators, feeding mainly on other seals, penguins, fish, and krill. Killer whales are the only known, albeit infrequent, natural predators of leopard seals.[4] DELL AEFM8U00310 Laptop Keyboard

Along with all of the other earless seals, it belongs to the family Phocidae, and is the only species in the genus Hydrurga. The name hydrurga means "water worker" and leptonyx is the Greek for "small clawed".

The leopard seal is large and muscular, with a dark grey back and light grey on its stomach.  DELL 0P445M Laptop Keyboard Its throat is whitish with the black spots that give the seal its common name. Females are slightly larger than the males.[5] The overall length of this seal is 2.4–3.5 m (8.4–11.7 ft) and weight is from 200 to 600 kilograms (440 to 1,320 lb). They are about the same length as the northernwalrus, but usually less than half the weight.[6][7]  TOSHIBA Mini NB 255-SP1002L Laptop Keyboard

Its front teeth are sharp like those of other carnivores, but its molars lock together in a way that allows them to sieve krill from the water, in the manner of the crab eater seal.

The leopard seal lives in the cold waters surrounding Antarctica. During the summer months, it hunts among the pack ice surrounding the continent, spending almost all of its time in the water. SONY Vaio VGN-SZ73B/B CPU Fan

In the winter, it ranges north to the sub-Antarctic islands. Occasionally, individuals may be spotted on the southern coasts of Argentina, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand, and as far north as the Cook Islands. Juveniles are more often found in the north.

The leopard seal is a solitary creature and comes together in small groups only when it is time to mate. Dell Latitude E6510 CPU Fan During the mating season, males and females make acoustic calls to each other over distances, with at least the males having individual variability in their vocalising sequence patterns.[8] After a 9-month gestation, the female digs a hole in the ice, and gives birth to a single pup during the Antarctic summer. She protects the pup until it is able to fend for itself. SONY UDQFRZH13CF0 CPU Fan

Leopard seals are not very vocal, although they occasionally make some grunting and growling noises.

The leopard seal is bold, powerful and curious. In the water, there is a fine line between curiosity and predatory behaviour, and it may 'play' with penguins it does not intend to eat. There are also records of leopard seals attacking divers. Paul Nicklen, a National Geographic magazinephotographer, HP Pavilion dv6-3370ca CPU Fan

captured pictures of a leopard seal bringing live, injured, and then dead penguins to him, possibly in an attempt to teach the photographer how to hunt.

The leopard seal is second only to the killer whale among Antarctica's top predators. Its canine teeth are 2.5 cm (1 in).[10] It feeds on a wide variety of creatures. Smaller seals probably eat mostly krill, but also squid and fish. HP G62-341NR CPU Fan

Larger leopard seals probably switch from krill to more substantial prey, including king, adelie, rockhopper, gentoo, emperor, and chinstrap penguins, and less frequently, other seals, such as crabeater seal.

Around the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, the Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) is the main prey. HP 535438-001 CPU Fan

Other prey include penguins and fish. Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) pups and seabirds other than penguins have also been found in leopard seal scats in small quantities.[11]

When hunting penguins, the leopard seal patrols the waters near the edges of the ice, almost completely submerged, waiting for the birds to enter the ocean. Dell Vostro 3450 CPU Fan It kills the swimming bird by grabbing the feet, then shaking the penguin vigorously and beating its body against the surface of the water repeatedly until the penguin is dead. Previous reports stating the leopard seal skins its prey before feeding have been found to be incorrect. DELL XPS M170 CPU Fan

Lacking the teeth necessary to slice its prey into manageable pieces, it flails its prey from side to side to tear and rips it into smaller pieces.

The leopard seal is classified under the family Phocidae. Its closest relatives are the Ross seal, crabeater seal and the Weddell seal, which together are known as the lobodontine seals. SONY Vaio VGN-SZ2XP/C CPU Fan

All these seals descend from the superfamily Pinnipeda, which evolved from bear-like ancestors. They have diverged from other taxa in the order Carnivora.

The leopard seal has many features analogous to other species. For example the forearm and hand bones are similar in structure to those found in many mammal, reptile, and bird species. HP Pavilion dv6z-3100 CTO CPU Fan

However, in the leopard seal, the fingers are covered in a web of skin, which they use to propel themselves through the water.

The leopard seals share homologous features with its close relatives, the lobodontine seals. They all have dark fur on the tops of their bodies and lighter fur on their underbellies. HP KSB06105HA CPU Fan Though the colors vary between these species, the colored fur serves the same function, which is camouflage against predators and as it stalks its prey. SONY Vaio VPC-EB2S1E/WI CPU Fan, Dell Vostro 3500 CPU Fan,ASUS BFB0705HA CPU Fan,HP Pavilion dv6720er CPU Fan,HP KSB06105HA CPU Fan

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