'Rare' penguin twins born in Genoa Aquarium

Photo: AquarioVillage

 

Published: 13 Aug 2014 

Four baby Magellanic penguins – two of them twins – have been born at an Aquarium in Genoa, a phenomenon described by staff as “very rare.”

Staff at the Genoa Aquarium are celebrating the recent arrivals of four baby penguins. Two of the penguins are twins, an extremely rare occurrence, according to the aquarium.

The two eldest penguins, which were born days apart on June 13th and 25th from eggs laid on the 3rd and 11th of May, are visible to the public.

But visitors will have to wait to catch a glimpse of the twins, who were born in July from eggs laid on May 25th as they are being protected and kept hidden by their parents.


The penguins have not yet been named as staff await the results of a DNA test to determine their sex.
Originating from South America, the Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) takes its name after the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan who spotted the birds in 1520.

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