What are the native animals of Antarctica?
Antarctica��(/��n��t����rkt��k��/) is��Earth's southernmost and least-populated��continent. Situated almost entirely south of the��Antarctic Circle��and surrounded by the��Southern Ocean��(also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic��South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, being about 40% larger than��Europe, and has an area of 14,200,000��km2��(5,500,000��sq��mi). Most of Antarctica is covered by the��Antarctic ice sheet, with an average thickness of 1.9��km (1.2��mi).
 Antarctica is, on average, the coldest, driest, and windiest of the continents, and it has the highest average��elevation. It is mainly a��polar desert, with annual��precipitation��of over 200��mm (8��in) along the coast and far less inland. About 70% of the world's��freshwater��reserves are frozen in Antarctica, which, if melted, would raise global��sea levels��by almost 60 metres (200��ft). Antarctica holds the record for the��lowest measured temperature on Earth, ���89.2����C (���128.6����F). The coastal regions can reach temperatures over 10����C (50����F) in summer. Native��species of animals��include��mites,��nematodes,��penguins,��seals��and��tardigrades. Where��vegetation��occurs, it is mostly in the form of��lichen��or��moss.
 The��ice shelves of Antarctica��were probably first seen in 1820, during��a Russian expedition��led by��Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen��and��Mikhail Lazarev. The decades that followed saw further��exploration��in French, American, and British expeditions. The first confirmed landing was by a Norwegian team in 1895. In the early 20th century, there were a few expeditions into the interior of the continent.��British explorers��were the first to reach the��magnetic South Pole��in 1909, and the geographic South Pole was first reached in 1911 by��Norwegian explorers.
Native��species of animals��in Antarctica include��mites,��nematodes,��penguins,��seals��and��tardigrades.