科研之友
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摘要
A previously unpublished four-page pamphlet by Dr. George Murray Levick R.N. (1876-1956) on the 'Sexual habits of the Adelie penguin' was recently rediscovered at the Natural History Museum (NHM) at Tring. It was printed in 1915 but declined for publication with the official expedition reports. The account, based upon Levick's detailed field observations at Cape Adare (71 degrees 18'S, 170 degrees 09'E) during the course of the British Antarctic (Terra Nova) Expedition 1910, commented on frequency of sexual activity, autoerotic behaviour, and seemingly aberrant behaviour of young unpaired males and females including necrophilia, sexual coercion, sexual and physical abuse of chicks, non-procreative sex and homosexual behaviour. His observations were however accurate, valid and, with the benefit of hindsight, deserving of publication. Here we publish the pamphlet in its entirety, reinterpret selected observations and comment on its significance as a forgotten work by the pioneer of research on Adelie penguin Pygoscelis adeliae (Hombron and Jacquinot 1841) biology.
- 出版日期2012-10
