Pinguinus impennis

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	CHARADRIIFORMES	ALCIDAE

Scientific Name:

Pinguinus impennis

Species Authority:

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Great Auk
French	–	Grand Pingouin

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Extinct ver 3.1

Year Published:

2012

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s:

Justification:
This species was formerly distributed across the north Atlantic, but is now Extinct as a result of hunting pressure. The last live bird was seen in 1852.

History:

2008	–	Extinct
2004	–	Extinct
2000	–	Extinct
1994	–	Extinct
1988	–	Extinct

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Pinguinus impennis occurred in naturally scattered colonies (Bengtson 1984) across the North Atlantic until the 19th century, breeding from Canada through Greenland (to Denmark), the Faeroe Islands (to Denmark) and Iceland to Ireland and the UK, with archeological records from the western coast of Europe from European Russia south to France (Bourne 1993), and wintering offshore south to New England, USA, and southern Spain (Montevecchi and Kirk 1996). The last known pair were killed on Eldey Island, Iceland, in 1844, and the last live bird was seen off the Newfoundland Banks in 1852 (Halliday 1979).
Countries:	Regionally extinct: Canada; Faroe Islands; Greenland; Iceland; Ireland; United Kingdom
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Historically, birds bred only on remote, rocky islands, probably due to early extirpation in more accessible sites (Lyngs 1994). Birds were flightless (Livezey 1988). Immatures probably fed on plankton (Hobson and Montevecchi 1991) while adults dived for fish (Olson et al. 1979).
Systems:	Terrestrial; Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Details of how it was driven to extinction by hunting for its feathers, meat, fat and oil are well known (Grieve 1885). As birds became more scarce, specimen collecting became the proximate cause of their extinction (Birkhead 1994).

Major Threat(s):

Details of how it was driven to extinction by hunting for its feathers, meat, fat and oil are well known (Grieve 1885). As birds became more scarce, specimen collecting became the proximate cause of their extinction (Birkhead 1994).

Bibliography [top]

	Bengtson, S. - A. 1984. Breeding ecology and extinction of the Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis): anecdotal evidence and conjectures. The Auk 101(1): 1-12. Birkhead, T. 1994. How collectors killed the Great Auk? New Scientist 1927: 24-27. Bourne, W. R. P. 1993. The story of the Great Auk Pinguinus impennis. Archives of Natural History 20: 257-278. Grieve, S. 1885. The Great Auk, or Garefowl (Alca impennis Linn.): its history, archeology and remains. Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh, UK. Halliday, T. R. 1979. The Great Auk. Oceans 12: 27-31. Hobson, K. A.; Montevecchi, W. A. 1991. Stable isotope determination of the trophic status of the Great Auk. Oecologia 87: 528-531. IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2012.1). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 19 June 2012). Livezey, B. C. 1988. Morphometrics of flightlessness in the Alcidae. The Auk 105: 681-698. Lyngs, P. 1994. Gejrfuglen. Et 150 års minde. Dansk Ornitologisk Forenings Tidsskrift 88: 49-72. Montevecchi, W. A.; Kirk, D. A. 1996. Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis). In: Poole, A.; Gill, F. (ed.), The birds of North America, No. 260, pp. 1-20. The Academy of Natural Sciences, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. Olson, S. L.; Swift, C. C.; Mokhiber, C. 1979. An attempt to determine the prey of the Great Auk Pinguinus impennis. The Auk 96: 790-792.

Bengtson, S. - A. 1984. Breeding ecology and extinction of the Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis): anecdotal evidence and conjectures. The Auk 101(1): 1-12.

Birkhead, T. 1994. How collectors killed the Great Auk? New Scientist 1927: 24-27.

Bourne, W. R. P. 1993. The story of the Great Auk Pinguinus impennis. Archives of Natural History 20: 257-278.

Grieve, S. 1885. The Great Auk, or Garefowl (Alca impennis Linn.): its history, archeology and remains. Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh, UK.

Halliday, T. R. 1979. The Great Auk. Oceans 12: 27-31.

Hobson, K. A.; Montevecchi, W. A. 1991. Stable isotope determination of the trophic status of the Great Auk. Oecologia 87: 528-531.

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

Livezey, B. C. 1988. Morphometrics of flightlessness in the Alcidae. The Auk 105: 681-698.

Lyngs, P. 1994. Gejrfuglen. Et 150 års minde. Dansk Ornitologisk Forenings Tidsskrift 88: 49-72.

Montevecchi, W. A.; Kirk, D. A. 1996. Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis). In: Poole, A.; Gill, F. (ed.), The birds of North America, No. 260, pp. 1-20. The Academy of Natural Sciences, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC.

Olson, S. L.; Swift, C. C.; Mokhiber, C. 1979. An attempt to determine the prey of the Great Auk Pinguinus impennis. The Auk 96: 790-792.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2012. Pinguinus impennis. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 May 2013.
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