“…The aim of this study was to use confocal microscopy to examine the microstructure of the cornea of three species of penguin, the king Aptenodytes patagonicus , gentoo Pygoscelis papua and little penguins. We undertook this study on three different species partly because these three were those most readily accessible in Auckland but, given their vastly different foraging behaviours, known differences in corneal shape and the long period of independent evolution of each species [ 3 , 9 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ], we also wished to look for variation within Spheniscidae, and for a possible correlation with size or diving depth. Because TEM of two of these species, namely the king and gentoo, has not previously been published, following confocal microscopy we undertook that examination on one cornea of each to look for any morphological differences between the three species, bar the obvious one of size [ 4 , 10 , 12 ].…”