A penguin’s leg is composed of a short femur, knee, tibia and fibula. The upper leg bones are not visible as they are covered in feathers giving penguins a very short legged appearance.
Watching a penguin waddling around, it would be easy to assume they can’t bend their legs, but they can. A penguin’s leg has a short femur, knee, tibia, and fibula. The legs just look short and stubby because the upper leg is hidden by feathers.
Penguins do have knees, but they are covered in feathers, so they are not visible. A penguin's leg has four parts: the short femur, knee, tibia and fibula.
Because their upper leg bones are covered, penguins appear to have very short legs. Their waddling walk also makes it seem they are unable to bend their legs. Actually, some penguins can run quite fast, such as the Gentoo penguin which has been clocked at a top speed of 22 mph. Since penguins spend almost 75 percent of their lifetime in the water; their knees help them swim. Penguins live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. The Galapagos penguin, which lives near the equator, is the only species that ventures into the Northern Hemisphere.
Though you might not be able to tell from their plump bellies and adorable waddles, penguins do, in fact, have knees! They have the same leg bones as most other bipedal vertebrates, but certain adaptations have made walking a bit harder for them.
Scientists have determined that walking costs much more energy for penguins compared ot their body weight than it does for other land animals, and have concluded that this is a result of various adaptations that increase their mobility under water. Indeed, penguins are exceptionally fast and maneuverable swimmers, and all of their prey (and predators) live underwater. Their knees are usually hidden by their feathers.
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