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The Lieran giant penguin (Novopalaeeudyptes gigas) is a species of penguin of the Sphenisciformes order in the Austrodyptornithes clade that is native to much of the tropical, subtropical, temperate, and boreal coastlines of the northern hemisphere in Liera. The Lieran giant penguin is descended from the extinct Palaeeudyptes antarcticus that was harvested from New Zealand on Earth to Liera during the early Oligocene, and had evolved into species more adaptable and larger than their ancestors.
The Lieran giant penguin is the largest surviving penguin on the planet, with the height of up to 2 meters (6.6 feet) tall and a weight of up to 116 kilograms (256 lbs) in mass, comparable in size to the extinct Palaeeudyptes klekowskii. The Lieran giant penguin is recognizable for, not only its massive size, but also its somewhat large beak, its robust build, and its coloration; its back, feet, tail, flippers, and "cap" are black, while its rump, belly, and chest are white with a few speckles, and its face and throat are a deep orange in color bordered by a black band below the orange color. Lieran giant penguin chicks are typically covered with dull brown down and have black "caps" and white masks. Like all penguins, the Lieran giant penguin is flightless, with a streamlined body, and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat.
The Lieran giant penguin dives to depths of 200–450 meters (656–1476 feet), spending around ten minutes submerged, during daylight hours, and less than 70 metres (229 feet) at night. The Lieran giant penguin's average swimming speed is 8–12.5 km/h (4.9–7.7 mph). On shallower dives under 80 meters (262 feet), it averages 6.5 km/h (4 mph) descending and ascending, while on deeper dives over 200 meters (656 feet) deep, it averages 6 km/h (3.7 mph) in both directions. Lieran giant penguins also "porpoise", a swimming technique used to breathe while maintaining speed. It has several adaptations to facilitate this, including an unusually structured haemoglobin to allow it to function at low oxygen levels, solid bones to reduce barotrauma, and the ability to reduce its metabolism and shut down non-essential organ functions. On land, the Lieran giant penguin penguin alternates between walking with a wobbling gait and tobogganing—sliding over the ground on its belly, propelled by its feet and wing-like flippers.
Lieran giant penguins eat various species of small fish, crustaceans (such as krill), and cephalopods (such as squid). Fish constitute roughly 80% of their diet, except in winter months of December and January, when they make up only around 30%. The Lieran giant penguin is a social animal in its nesting and its foraging behaviour; birds hunting together may coordinate their diving and surfacing. Individuals may be active day or night. A mature adult travels throughout most of the year between the breeding colony and ocean foraging areas; the species disperses into the oceans from July to August. As a defence against the cold in cooler areas, a colony of Lieran giant penguins forms a compact huddle (also known as the turtle formation) ranging in size from ten to several hundred birds, with each bird leaning forward on a neighbour. As the wind chill is the least severe in the center of the colony, all the juveniles are usually huddled there. Those on the outside upwind tend to shuffle slowly around the edge of the formation and add themselves to its leeward edge, producing a slow churning action, and giving each bird a turn on the inside and on the outside.
The Lieran giant penguin is able to breed at three years of age, although only a very small minority actually do then; the average age of first breeding is around 5–6 years. Lieran giant penguins are serially monogamous. They have only one mate each year, and stay faithful to that mate. However, fidelity between years is less than 30%. The unusually long breeding cycle probably contributes to this low rate. The Lieran giant penguin has an extremely prolonged breeding cycle, taking around 14–16 months from laying to offspring fledging. Although pairs will attempt to breed annually, they are generally only successful one year in two, or two years in three in a triennial pattern on northern Agra. The reproductive cycle begins in March to May, as birds return to colonies for a prenuptial moult. Those that were unsuccessful in breeding the previous season will usually arrive earlier. They then return to the sea for around three weeks before coming ashore in May or June.
The female Lieran giant penguin lays one pyriform (pear-shaped) white egg weighing between 650 and 850 grams (1.4 and 1.8 lbs). It is initially soft, but hardens and darkens to a pale greenish colour. It measures on average of around 16 centimeters × 10 centimeters (6.2 inches × 3.9 inches). The egg is incubated for around 70 days with both birds sharing incubation in shifts of 6–18 days each. Like the common penguins of the genus Aptenodytes, the Lieran giant penguin balances the egg on its feet and incubates it in a "brood pouch".
Hatching may take up to 2–3 days to complete, and chicks are born semi-altricial and nidicolous. In other words, they have only a thin covering of down, and are entirely dependent on their parents for food and warmth. The guard phase begins with the hatching of the chick. Similar to the Aptenodytes penguins, the young Lieran giant penguin chick spends its time balanced on its parents' feet, sheltered in the brood pouch formed from the abdominal skin of the latter. During this time, the parents alternate every 3–7 days, one guarding the chick while the other forages for food. The guard phase lasts for 30–40 days. By then the chick has grown much larger, and is better able to both keep warm and protect itself against most predators. Lieran giant penguin chicks are very curious and will wander far when exploring their surroundings; they are well known to be relatively tame towards Lieran people and human explorers, unlike the fully grown adults in the wild, which are known to be aggressive towards smaller or similarly-sized species. The chicks form a group, called a crèche and are watched over by only a few adult birds; most parents leave their chick in these crèches to forage for themselves and their chick. Other species of penguins also practice this method of communal care for offspring.
The Lieran giant penguin is listed on CITES Appendix I, which means that all international commercial trade in Lieran giant penguins or their body parts is prohibited. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 1990, as the Lieran giant penguin has been successfully protected by the conservation laws, and the Lieran giant penguins are not considered threatened. However, captive breeding programs may be beneficial for the species' survival.