Great Auk Skull Replica

$182.00

The Great Auk is an extinct species was once found in the Northern Atlantic from Maine to Scandinavia. A large flightless penguin-like bird, the Great Auk was a valued food source in historic times. It was driven to extinction by scientific collecting for museums and individuals.

Description

Great Auk Skull Replica measures 6.1 inches. Great Auk Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Made in USA. Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, home décor skull, or office décor skull.

The Great auk or Pinguinus impennis is a species of flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century.

It was the only modern species in the genus Pinguinus impennis. It is not closely related to the birds now known as penguins, which were discovered later and so named by sailors because of their physical resemblance to the great auk.

The Great auk or Pinguinus impennis bred on rocky, isolated islands with easy access to the ocean and a plentiful food supply, a rarity in nature that provided only a few breeding sites for the great auks.

The great auk or Pinguinus impennis was 30 to 33 in. tall and weighed about 11 lb., making it the largest alcid to survive into the modern era, and the second largest member of the alcid family overall.

The great auk or Pinguinus impennis had a black back and a white belly. The black beak was heavy and hooked, with grooves on its surface. During summer, great auk plumage showed a white patch over each eye. During winter, the great auk lost these patches, instead developing a white band stretching between the eyes.

The wings were only 5.9 in. long, rendering the bird flightless. Instead, it was a powerful swimmer, a trait that it used in hunting. Its favorite prey were fish, including Atlantic menhaden, capelin, and crustaceans. Although agile in the water, it was clumsy on land.

The great auk or Pinguinus impennis pairs mated for life. They nested in extremely dense and social colonies, laying one egg on bare rock. The egg was white with variable brown marbling.

Both parents participated in the incubation of the egg for around 6 weeks before the young hatched. The young left the nest site after 2 to 3 weeks, although the parents continued to care for it.

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Additional information

Weight 3 lbs
Dimensions 6.1 in
Great Auk Facts

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Alcidae
Genus: †Pinguinus
Species: †P. impennis
Binomial name: †Pinguinus impennis
Conservation Status: Extinct