History Buffs and Ornithophiles Alike May Have a Shot at August 9's Final Jeopardy Answer

Current Jeopardy! champ Matt Amodio — who has now won 13 consecutive Jeopardy! games — is tied with former Jeopardy! champ Matt Jackson in fifth place for most consecutive games won on the trivia show. If Amodio wins tonight, he will be six games behind former champs David Madden and Jason Zuffranieri, who are tied for the fourth-place slot.

On Aug. 9, Kristen Nagle, a public servant from El Paso, Texas, and Brian Cordovabrookey, an attorney from Pasadena, California, will try to put an end to Amodio’s streak. The question is: Who knows the most about penguin history?

The category for tonight’s Final Jeopardy is “Beastly Eponyms” and the clue reads, “A penguin species found in southern South America is named for this 16th C. man whose crew were the first from Europe to see them.”

Based on the information given, Ferdinand Magellan is likely the correct response, but viewers will have to wait until tonight for confirmation.

Magellan and his crew are best known for circumnavigating the globe in the early 16th century. Crew member Antonio Pigafetta reportedly first spotted the flightless bird in South America. Though Magellan was not the first to see the bird, Magellanic penguins are named after the head explorer from the voyage.

The Magellanic penguin breeds in coastal Patagonia, including Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands, and the species is larger than both the African and Humboldt Penguins. They grow to be between 24 and 30 inches tall and customarily weigh between 6 and 14.3 pounds.

Like many penguins, the Magellanic Penguin has a black back and a white abdomen (although chicks and young Magellanic Penguins boast grey-blue backs). They prey on cuttlefish, squid, krill, and various other crustaceans.

Jeopardy! airs on weeknights. Check your local listings for information regarding the channel and the time.