Animalia > Chordata > Aves > Suliformes > Sulidae > Morus > Morus capensis

Morus capensis (Cape Gannet)

Synonyms: Dysporus capensis (homotypic); Sula capensis; Sula capensis capensis

Wikipedia Abstract

The Cape gannet (Morus capensis) originally Sula capensis, is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. They are easily identified by their large size, black and white plumage and distinctive yellow crown and hindneck. The pale blue bill is pointed with fine serrations near the tip; perhaps because of the depth and speed of the gannet's dive when fishing (depending on altitude, gannets hit the water at speeds of between 40 and 120 km/h (25 and 75 mph), its beak has no external nostrils into which the water might be forced.
View Wikipedia Record: Morus capensis

Endangered Species

Status: Endangered
View IUCN Record: Morus capensis

EDGE Analysis

Uniqueness Scale: Similiar (0) 
5
 Unique (100)
Uniqueness & Vulnerability Scale: Similiar & Secure (0) 
48
 Unique & Vulnerable (100)
ED Score: 11.255
EDGE Score: 3.89223
Learn more at EDGE of Existence programme

Attributes

Clutch Size [5]  1
Clutches / Year [2]  1
Egg Length [2]  2.992 inches (76 mm)
Egg Width [2]  1.89 inches (48 mm)
Fledging [2]  3 months 7 days
Incubation [2]  44 days
Maximum Longevity [2]  8 years
Water Biome [1]  Pelagic, Coastal
Adult Weight [2]  5.88 lbs (2.667 kg)
Birth Weight [3]  105 grams
Diet [4]  Carnivore (Vertebrates), Piscivore
Diet - Fish [4]  90 %
Diet - Scavenger [4]  10 %
Forages - Underwater [4]  100 %
Female Maturity [2]  3 years 5 months

Protected Areas

Name IUCN Category Area acres Location Species Website Climate Land Use
Addo Elephant National Park II 348463 Eastern Cape, South Africa
Cape Peninsula National Park II 70141 Western Cape, South Africa
West Coast National Park II 59916 Western Cape, South Africa

Important Bird Areas

Biodiversity Hotspots

Name Location Endemic Species Website
Cape Floristic Region South Africa No
Succulent Karoo Namibia, South Africa No

Prey / Diet

Engraulis capensis (Southern African anchovy)[6]
Merluccius capensis (Cape hake)[6]
Sardinops sagax (Australian pilchard)[6]
Scomberesox saurus (Atlantic saury)[6]

Prey / Diet Overlap

Competing SpeciesCommon Prey Count
Phalacrocorax capensis (Cape cormorant)2
Procellaria aequinoctialis (White-chinned Petrel)1
Puffinus griseus (Sooty Shearwater)2
Spheniscus demersus (Jackass Penguin)2

Range Map

External References

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 01, 2010 at animaldiversity.org
♦ 2Nathan P. Myhrvold, Elita Baldridge, Benjamin Chan, Dhileep Sivam, Daniel L. Freeman, and S. K. Morgan Ernest. 2015. An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96:3109
♦ 3Terje Lislevand, Jordi Figuerola, and Tamás Székely. 2007. Avian body sizes in relation to fecundity, mating system, display behavior, and resource sharing. Ecology 88:1605
♦ 4Hamish Wilman, Jonathan Belmaker, Jennifer Simpson, Carolina de la Rosa, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, and Walter Jetz. 2014. EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95:2027
♦ 5del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
♦ 6A. L. Batchelora & G. J. B. Rossa, THE DIET AND IMPLICATIONS OF DIETARY CHANGE OF CAPE GANNETS ON BIRD ISLAND, ALGOA BAY, Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology Volume 55, Issue 2, 1984
Biodiversity Hotspots provided by Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0