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A rare melanistic chinstrap penguin Pygoscelis antarcticus at Penguin Island, Maritime Antarctica

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Abstract

A eumelanistic chinstrap penguin Pygoscelis antarcticus was registered at Penguin Island, Maritime Antarctica during the 2014/2015 austral summer. Melanism mutations are quite rare for this species, and even though former informal records have been made, as far as we know, this is the first official report of eumelanism in chinstrap penguins.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the National Institute of Science and Technology Antarctic of Environmental Research (INCT-APA), to the National Council for Research and Development (CNPq process: No. 574018/2008-5) and to the Carlos Chagas Research Support Foundation of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ No. E-16/170.023/2008) for financial support.

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Correspondence to Júlia Victória Grohmann Finger.

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Finger, J.V.G., Aver, G.F., Koch, N.M. et al. A rare melanistic chinstrap penguin Pygoscelis antarcticus at Penguin Island, Maritime Antarctica. Polar Biol 40, 1919–1921 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-017-2098-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-017-2098-z

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