“…Of particular importance are the penguins, including the three species of the genus Pygoscelis: gentoo (P. papua), Adé lie (P. adeliae) and chinstrap (P. antarcticus), whose breeding range extends south of 608S. In penguins, haematological research has been carried out mainly on blood respiratory properties (Lenfant et al 1969;Milsom et al 1973;Nicol et al 1988;Rosa et al 1993) and on changes in plasma nutrients and metabolites during fasting in breeding season (Cherel, Leloup et al 1988;Cherel, Robin et al 1988;Ghebremeskel et al 1989;Ghebremeskel et al 1991;Ghebremeskel et al 1992;Merino & Barbosa 1997;Vleck & Vleck 2002). Notwithstanding the great attention given to penguins because their special adaptations to environmental conditions, there are little reported data about normal haematology and plasma biochemistry of members of the Pygoscelis genus (Merino & Barbosa 1997;Najle et al 2006).…”