Heart and ventricle weights of Antarctic penguins

The hearts of Emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri), Chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarctica), and Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) were weighed and measured to elucidate morphological parameters that might be functional for diving. These heart parameters are the first to be described for penguins. Heart weig...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Journal of Zoology
Main Author: Drabek, Charles M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1989
Subjects:
Animal Science and Zoology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Antarctic
Antarc*
Antarctica
Aptenodytes forsteri
Pygoscelis adeliae
Pygoscelis antarctica
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z89-367
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z89-367
Description
Summary:The hearts of Emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri), Chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarctica), and Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) were weighed and measured to elucidate morphological parameters that might be functional for diving. These heart parameters are the first to be described for penguins. Heart weights of both the Chinstrap (42.4 g) and Adelie penguins (37.5 g) were greater than predicted for birds of their body size. The weight of the right ventricle in proportion to both the heart and the left ventricle was significantly greater in the Emperor Penguin than in the Chinstrap and Adelie penguins.

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