Eudyptula minor

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	SPHENISCIFORMES	SPHENISCIDAE

Scientific Name:

Eudyptula minor

Species Authority:

(Forster, 1781)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Blue Penguin, Fairy Penguin, Little Penguin

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2012

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s:

Justification:
This species has a very large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2009	–	Least Concern
2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	The Little Penguin has a narrow distribution from the Chatham Islands (New Zealand) in the east to the south-western tip of Australia¹.
Countries:	Native: Australia; New Zealand Vagrant: Chile
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	The global population size has not been quantified, but the population in Australia is estimated as under 1,000,000 individuals (del Hoyo et al. 1992).
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This species occurs in temperate marine waters, mainly feeding on pelagic shoaling fish, cephalopods and occasionally crustaceans. It captures prey by pursuit diving, frequently swimming round a shoal of fishg in concentric circles before plunging into its midst. It is known to dive up to 69 m and usually feeds along. Breeding has been recorded in all month with the exact timing depending on locality and year. It forms colonies, nesting in burrows on sandy or rocky islands, often at the base of cliffs or in sand dunes (del Hoyo et al. 1992).
Systems:	Terrestrial; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

This species occurs in temperate marine waters, mainly feeding on pelagic shoaling fish, cephalopods and occasionally crustaceans. It captures prey by pursuit diving, frequently swimming round a shoal of fishg in concentric circles before plunging into its midst. It is known to dive up to 69 m and usually feeds along. Breeding has been recorded in all month with the exact timing depending on locality and year. It forms colonies, nesting in burrows on sandy or rocky islands, often at the base of cliffs or in sand dunes (del Hoyo et al. 1992).

Systems:

Terrestrial; Marine

Bibliography [top]

	del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A.; Sargatal, J. 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2012.1). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 19 June 2012). Mickelson, M. J.; Dann, P.; Cullen, J. M. 1992. Sea temperature in Bass Straits and breeding success of the Little Penguin Eudyptula minor at Phillip Island, South-eastern Australia. Emu 91: 355-368.

del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A.; Sargatal, J. 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2012.1). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 19 June 2012).

Mickelson, M. J.; Dann, P.; Cullen, J. M. 1992. Sea temperature in Bass Straits and breeding success of the Little Penguin Eudyptula minor at Phillip Island, South-eastern Australia. Emu 91: 355-368.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2012. Eudyptula minor. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 May 2013.
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