Not all penguins wear tuxedos.
No shoes. No shirt. No service.
(above image source)
This one is, frankly, quite under-dressed.
National Geographic photographer Andrew Evans took this shot of a King Penguin on South Georgia, an island off the coast of Antarctica. The monochromatic color is a result of melanism, a condition where melanin deposits (which cause the darkened pigmentation) occur in abnormal locations. Andrew Evans explains:
Melanism is merely the dark pigmentation of skin, fur — or in this case, feathers. The unique trait derives from increased melanin in the body. Genes may play a role, but so might other factors. While melanism is common in many different animal species (e.g., Washington D.C. is famous for its melanistic squirrels), the trait is extremely rare in penguins. All-black penguins are so rare there is practically no research on the subject — biologists guess that perhaps one in every quarter million of penguins shows evidence of at least partial melanism, whereas the penguin we saw appears to be almost entirely (if not entirely) melanistic.
Read more about melanistic penguins at the National Geographic blog!
- RCH
