# Great auk (*Pinguinus impennis*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-auk  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The great auk (Pinguinus impennis) is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. It is extinct, and the IUCN Red List places it in the category Extinct (EX) in its global assessment. A medium-sized bird, the great auk had an adult body mass of 5 kg and a height of 85 cm. Each clutch held 1 egg, and the egg incubation period was 44 days.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 5 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Height | 85 cm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | rocky |
| Egg incubation | 44 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Conservation status | Extinct (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Charadriiformes
- family: Alcidae
- genus: Pinguinus
- species: *Pinguinus impennis* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Alca borealis*, *Alca impennis*, *Chenalopex impennis*, *Penguinus impennis*, *Pinguinis impennis*, *Plautus impennis*

## Common questions

### Is the great auk extinct?

Yes. The great auk is extinct, and its IUCN Red List category is Extinct (EX) in the global assessment.

### What kind of animal was the great auk?

The great auk was a bird in the family Alcidae, order Charadriiformes.

### How big was the great auk?

The great auk had a height of 85 cm and an adult body mass of 5 kg, which places it in the medium size class.

### How many eggs did the great auk lay?

The great auk laid 1 egg per clutch, with an incubation period of 44 days.

### What is the scientific name of the great auk?

The scientific name of the great auk is Pinguinus impennis, in the genus Pinguinus.

### What other names does the great auk have?

The great auk is also called Pinguin, Garefowl, King Murr and Queen Murr.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Great auk (Pinguinus impennis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-auk