Most penguins look like they’re wearing a little vest.
But this “all black” bird photographed in Antarctica looks like it’s sporting a fancy biscuit and cream vest.
The gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) suffers from a condition called melanism, in which too much of the dark pigment melanin has been produced, making it blacker than usual.
In humans, melanin is the natural pigment in the body that gives our hair and eyes a dark color – and it protects us from the sun’s rays.
Although melanism causes animals to look different from other members of the same species, it can be passed on to offspring as an evolutionary advantage.
The penguin suffers from a condition called melanism, in which too much of the dark pigment melanin has been produced, causing it to appear darker than usual
Despite its “unusual plumage,” the penguin appeared to be accepted by its colonymates
In 2010, a king penguin with melanism described as “one in a million mutations” was found in Fortuna Bay, South Georgia. However, this is only the second recorded gentoo penguin with this condition.
The new discovery has been detailed in a new study led by Rocio Nigro at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“The penguin’s unusual coloration has been identified as melanism, a genetic condition that causes an excess of melanin pigment in the feathers,” say Nigro and colleagues in their paper published in Polar Biology.
“This particular individual appeared to be in good health and exhibiting normal behavior.”
The penguin was spotted at Hope Bay north of the Antarctic Peninsula (the bit that sticks out of the Antarctic mainland like a little tail).
Despite its “unusual plumage” it seemed to have been accepted by its colonymates.
However, the researchers said they could not confirm its gender or breeding status.
Gentoo penguin wings (or “flappers”) are usually black on top and white on the bottom—but this particular bird has all-black wings.
The cookie and cream penguin has been spotted at Hope Bay north of the Antarctic Peninsula (the bit that sticks out of the Antarctic mainland like a little tail).
Gentoo penguin wings (or “flappers”) are usually black above and white below (as seen in this stock photo)
Gentoo penguins have white eye-spots and a bright red-orange beak. This photo shows an adult with its two adorable chicks
What is melanism?
Melanism is the opposite of albinism and is the result of a gene that causes an excess of pigment in an animal’s skin or hair, causing it to appear black.
In contrast, albinism is a condition that can cause animals to turn white.
Some animals develop melanism on purpose, including certain moth and ladybug species that have developed darker colors because they live in areas affected by industrial pollution.
Others, like these gray seals, are simply born with the coloration.
Melanism affects several species of animals, including tigers, panthers, zebras, and foxes.
While melanism does not occur in humans, some people do experience various melanistic disorders such as Addison’s disease, acanthosis nigricans, and melasma.
Like other penguin species, the donkey typically has black on its back and a huge white chest – but this is heavily speckled with black spots to give it the appearance of cookies and cream.
However, like other regular gentoo penguins, it also has white spots extending from its eyes and a bright red-orange beak.
Penguins are adept swimmers underwater at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour in search of food – and their classic black-and-white “western” appearance helps them avoid predators.
When a potential predator is looking up from below, a white belly goes better with light-filled surface water.
Meanwhile, a predator looking down from above sees the penguin’s black back, which resembles the darker depths of the ocean.
However, Professor Heather Lynch, an ecologist at Stony Brook University in New York, doesn’t think this cookies-and-cream bird is at greater risk from predation because of its genetic condition.
“Although penguin coloration is a long-term evolutionary strategy that helps penguins evade predators, I don’t think this penguin’s coloration puts it at serious risk,” Professor Lynch, who was not involved in the study, told New scientist
“Being a penguin is risky enough.”
Because black penguins are particularly rare, there is very little research on them.
It is estimated that around one in 250,000 penguins suffer from the disease, although few are as completely black as the penguin found in South Georgia in 2010.
This black king penguin was shot in 2010 in Fortuna Bay, a sub-Antarctic island in South Georgia about 860 miles off the Falkland Islands
A gray seal washed up on the Cornish coast earlier this year (dubbed Liquorice by staff at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary) is also melanistic
In some species, melanism can be beneficial and passed on to subsequent generations as it facilitates survival.
For example, dark skin can provide better camouflage, making them less visible to their prey.
Mammals and other animals can also suffer from melanism, including a beautiful gray seal pup that washed up on the Cornish coast recently.
Staff at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary gave the name Liquorice to the stunning female pup, who was spotted on a nearby beach by local walkers.
In 2020, photos emerged of a melanistic tiger in Odisha, India, whose back was conspicuously black but still had orange stripes on its abdomen, neck, and legs.
Scientists warn that if Antarctica continues to melt at this fast rate, 90% of the world’s emperor penguins could become extinct in just 80 years
An alarming study warns that Antarctica’s emperor penguins are on the brink of extinction due to rapid sea ice melt.
Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) claim that 90 percent of colonies could be wiped out by the end of the century based on current global warming trends.
Their warning follows analysis of clear satellite imagery from 2022 that suggests no chicks survived from four of the five known groups breeding near the central and eastern Bellingshausen Seas.
This failure to produce offspring marks an unprecedented first for the region – and experts predict the situation will only get worse in the years to come.
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