The term penguin indicates a particular type of waterfowl belonging to the Sphenisciformes, unable to fly grouped in a single family.
Definition of penguin
The name penguin is actually the name of a particular species present in the southern hemisphere only, in particular in Antarctica, South America, South Africa and Australia, which was in the past hunted and marketed to obtain the special fat present in the body of these animals in large quantities.
There are some variants of the penguins, such as the white-winged penguin and the New Zealand penguin considered, for shared opinion, a chromatic variant of the rock-jumping penguin.
As for the origin of the penguins, it is actually unclear.
It is widely believed that they represent the evolution of birds resembling seagulls and that they have gone through a phase in the past in which they were able not only to fly but also to swim.
Today they certainly do not fly but they are capable of excellent swimming and agile dives in the waters.
They use their wings like fins, for greater thrust in the water, and swim with such elegance that they almost resemble dolphins that jump out of the water at regular intervals for the necessary breathing.
The penguins for their nutrition are oriented towards fish, crustaceans and squid that can easily find with dives even tens of meters and for rather long times.
In turn, penguins are an excellent meal for some animals classified among the great predators, including killer whale, leopard seal and sea lion.
These birds can live for twenty years.
