Gentoo penguins have white bellies so they blend in to the water when swimming their bellies look like the sky from the depths. Adaptations Their coloration helps them become invisible when they are underwater as from above they blend in with the sea floor, whereas from below they blend in with the sky. Gentoo penguins use their wings to propel them through the water and are thought to be the fastest swimming of all penguin species, able to reach speeds of nearly 30mph in the water. But they’re pure grace underwater. Gentoo penguins primarily eat crustaceans, fish, and squids, with krill forming the majority of their diet. Nobody is exactly sure why the word “gentoo” was applied to this particular penguin.
Eight jamming gentoo facts. Underwater Adaptations Like all penguins, gentoos are awkward on land. Gentoo penguins form sizable colonies of a few hundred adults on flat ice-free areas of grass or rock adjacent to sandy beaches.