Biomedical Ephemera, or: A Frog for Your Boils

dendroica:

Mandy Stadther

Minnesota, USA

King Penguin chicks, Gold Harbor, South Georgia

(via Digital Photo Contest // 2011 Winners)

You know that “Woolly Penguin” I posted yesterday? The oddly-shaped King Penguin chick that was on the illustration always looked like a juvenile penguin to me, but in real life, they look much more like the adult form of a distinct species (even if they’re still rather plump). In the background, you can see the adults who mind the creche, which, for most of the year, are almost the same height as the juveniles. 

Given that most penguin species fledge shortly after reaching adult height, and are typically in various states of losing their juvenile coat while at that full height, the confusion of the early explorers encountering these guys is more obvious.