For the first time in the history of the Galapagos Islands, an extremely rare white penguin was spotted. It was found on Isabela, the largest island in the archipelago off the coast of Ecuador. The penguin was completely white in colour. The penguin’s species has not been officially confirmed, however, it is believed to be a Galapagos Penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus).
These penguins generally have a black head and 2 white lines running down from their eyes towards the chin with a black stripe on their neck. The complete white colour of this newly discovered penguin is probably due to a form of leucistic pigmentation, which causes the black colour of the feathers to disappear. Leucism is considered to be a genetic disorder, causing the lightening of the colour.
Leucism is considered to be a genetic disorder, causing the lightening of the colour of the body while maintaining the colour of the eye. Reason for the cause of leucism in penguins is still to be found. Galapagos penguins are the only penguins found north of the equator and is the second smallest (49- 50 cm) species of penguin. They weigh around 2.5 kg – 4.5 kg.
