Montreal Biodome, Montréal, QC, Canada, October 4, 2001

Year: 2001 (October 4, 2001)

11″ x 8.5″

Media: Canon® Pro Platinum High Gloss Photo Paper

Printers: Canon® PIXMA

Color

Art: Photo

Artist: Luc Paquin

Montreal Biodome

Sub-Antarctic Islands

Climate

The temperature is kept relatively constant, between 2ºC and 5ºC. The photoperiod (length of daylight) matches the natural cycle in the region.

Gentoo Penguin

Taxonomy

The gentoo penguin is one of three species in the genus Pygoscelis. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA evidence suggests the genus split from other penguins around 38 million years ago, about 2 million years after the ancestors of the genus Aptenodytes. In turn, the Adelie penguins split off from the other members of the genus around 19 million years ago, and the chinstrap and gentoo finally diverging around 14 million years ago.

Two subspecies of this penguin are recognised: Pygoscelis papua papua and the smaller Pygoscelis papua ellsworthii.

Luc