List of penguins

IUCN Red List categories
Conservation status
EX	Extinct (0 species)
EW	Extinct in the wild (0 species)
CR	Critically endangered (1 species)
EN	Endangered (4 species)
VU	Vulnerable (4 species)
NT	Near threatened (2 species)
LC	Least concern (7 species)

IUCN Red List categories
Conservation status
EX	Extinct (0 species)
EW	Extinct in the wild (0 species)
CR	Critically endangered (1 species)
EN	Endangered (4 species)
VU	Vulnerable (4 species)
NT	Near threatened (2 species)
LC	Least concern (7 species)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Penguins are birds in the family Spheniscidae in the monotypic order Sphenisciformes.^[1] They inhabit high-productivity marine habitats, almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere; the only species to occur north of the Equator is the Galapagos penguin.^[2]^[3] The only group of birds other than the ratites to be entirely flightless, penguins are extremely adapted to their aquatic lifestyle, with a streamlined shape that minimizes drag, countershaded dark-and-white plumage,^[3] dense bones,^[2] powerful flippers, and insulating feathers that allow them to withstand very low temperatures on land and in water.^[3]

There are currently 18 extant species of penguins recognised by the International Ornithologists' Union, distributed among six genera.^[1] Many species of fossil penguins are known from the Paleocene onwards; however, their exact number and taxonomy are unsettled due to ongoing discoveries.^[4]

Conventions

Conservation status codes listed follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the penguin's range is provided. Ranges are based on the IOC World Bird List for that species unless otherwise noted. Population estimates are of the number of mature individuals and are taken from the IUCN Red List.

This list follows the taxonomic treatment (designation and order of species) and nomenclature (scientific and common names) of version 13.2 of the IOC World Bird List.^[1] Where the taxonomy proposed by the IOC World Bird List conflicts with the taxonomy followed by the IUCN^[a] or the 2023 edition of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World,^[6] the disagreement is noted next to the species's common name (for nomenclatural disagreements) or scientific name (for taxonomic disagreements).

Classification

The International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) recognises 18 species of penguins in six genera. This list does not include hybrid species, extinct prehistoric species, or putative species not yet accepted by the IOU.

Family Spheniscidae

Genus Aptenodytes: two species
Genus Pygoscelis: three species
Genus Eudyptula: one species
Genus Spheniscus: four species
Genus Megadyptes: one species
Genus Eudyptes: seven species

Penguins

Genus *Aptenodytes* – Miller, J. F., 1778 – 2 species
Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	IUCN status and estimated population
King penguin	A. patagonicus Miller, J. F., 1778	Subantarctic islands	LC 1,084,320–1,228,320 breeding pairs ^[7]
Emperor penguin	A. forsteri Gray, G. R., 1884	Antarctic sea ice	NT 256,500 breeding pairs ^[8]

Genus *Pygoscelis* – Wagler, 1832 – 3 species
Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	IUCN status and estimated population
Adélie penguin	P. adeliae (Hombron and Jacquinot, 1841)	Antarctica and surrounding islands	LC 10,000,000 ^[9]
Chinstrap penguin	P. antarcticus (Forster, J. R., 1781)	Antarctic Peninsula and Balleny Islands	LC 8,000,000 ^[10]
Gentoo penguin	P. papua (Forster, J. R., 1781) Four subspecies P. p. taeniata P. p. papua P. p. ellsworthi P. p. poncetii	Subantarctic islands and locally in Antarctica	LC 774,000 ^[11]

Genus *Eudyptula* – Bonaparte, 1856 – 1 species
Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	IUCN status and estimated population
Little penguin	E. minor (Forster, J. R., 1781) Six subspecies E. m. novaehollandiae E. m. iredalei E. m. variabilis E. m. minor E. m. albosignata E. m. chathamensis	Australia and New Zealand	LC 469,760 ^[12]

Genus *Spheniscus* – Brisson, 1760 – 4 species
Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	IUCN status and estimated population
Galapagos penguin	S. mendiculus Sundevall, 1871	Galápagos Islands	EN 1,200 ^[13]
Humboldt penguin	S. humboldti Meyen, 1834	South America	VU 23,800 ^[14]
Magellanic penguin	S. magellanicus (Forster, J. R., 1781)	South America	LC 2,200,000–3,200,000 ^[15]
African penguin	S. demersus (Linnaeus, 1758)	Coasts of Southern Africa	CR 19,800 ^[16]

Genus *Megadyptes* – Milne-Edwards, 1880 – 1 species
Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	IUCN status and estimated population
Yellow-eyed penguin	M. antipodes (Hombron and Jacquinot, 1841)	New Zealand	EN 2,600–3,000 ^[17]

Genus *Eudyptes* – Vieillot, 1816 – 7 species
Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	IUCN status and estimated population
Macaroni penguin	E. chrysolophus (Brandt, J. F., 1837)	Antarctic Peninsula, South America, and subantarctic islands in South Atlantic and Indian Oceans	VU 6,300,000 breeding pairs ^[18]
Royal penguin	E. schlegeli Finsch, 1876	Macquarie Island and nearby islands	LC 1,340,000–1,660,000 ^[19]
Northern rockhopper penguin	E. moseleyi Mathews & Iredale, 1921	Tristan da Cunha, Amsterdam Island, and St. Paul Island (yellow)	EN 413,700 ^[20]
Southern rockhopper penguin	E. chrysocome (Forster, J. R., 1781) Two subspecies E. c. filholi E. c. chrysocome	South America and subantarctic islands in the Indian Ocean and New Zealand (green and blue)	VU 2,500,000 ^[21]
Fiordland penguin	E. pachyrhynchus Gray, G. R., 1845	New Zealand	NT 12,500–50,000 ^[22]
Snares penguin	E. robustus Oliver, 1953	Snares Islands	VU 63,000 ^[23]
Erect-crested penguin	E. sclateri Buller, 1888	Bounty and Antipodes Islands	EN 150,000 ^[24]

Fossil species

Basal sphenisciformes

Species	Notes	Source
Waimanu manneringi		Slack et al. 2006
Muriwaimanu tuatahi		Mayr et al. 2017
Sequiwaimanu roseae		Mayr et al. 2017
Crossvallia unienwillia		Jadwiszczak et al. 2013
Crossvallia waiparensis		Mayr et al. 2019
Petradyptes stonehousei		Ksepka et al. 2023
Kaiika maxwelli		Fordyce & Thoman 2011
Kumimanu biceae		Mayr et al. 2017
Kumimanu fordycei		Ksepka et al. 2023
Kupoupou stilwelli		Blokland et al. 2019
Archaeodyptes waitahaorum		Mayr et al. 2025
Daniadyptes primaevus		Mayr et al. 2025
Waimanutaha kenlovei		Mayr et al. 2025
Waiparadyptes gracilitarsus		Mayr et al. 2025

Advanced sphenisciformes


Species	Notes	Source
Anthropornis nordenskjoldii		Jadwiszczak et al. 2002
Anthropornis grandis		Jadwiszczak et al. 2002
UCMP 321023 (Anthropornis sp.)		Ksepka & Clarke, 2010
Palaeeudyptes antarcticus
Palaeeudyptes marplesi
Palaeeudyptes klekowskii		Jadwiszczak et al. 2002
Palaeeudyptes gunnari	May represent the opposite sex of P. klekowskii [1]	Jadwiszczak et al. 2002
Chilean Palaeeudyptes
Burnside "Palaeeudyptes"		Ksepka & Clarke, 2010
Duntroon "Palaeeudyptes"		Ksepka & Clarke, 2010
Archaeospheniscus lowei		Giovanardi et al. 2021
Archaeospheniscus lopdelli		Giovanardi et al. 2021
Notodyptes wimani	Formerly Archaeospheniscus	Giovanardi et al. 2021
Delphinornis larseni		Jadwiszczak et al. 2002
Delphinornis gracilis		Jadwiszczak et al. 2002
Delphinornis arctowskii		Jadwiszczak et al. 2002
Mesetaornis polaris		Jadwiszczak et al. 2002
Marambiornis exilis		Jadwiszczak et al. 2002
Aprosdokitos mikrotero		Hospitaleche et al. 2017
Perudyptes devriesi		Ksepka & Clarke, 2010
Eretiscus tonni		Hospitaleche & Tambussi, 2008
Palaeospheniscus patagonicus		Hospitaleche & Tambussi, 2008
Palaeospheniscus bilocular		Hospitaleche & Tambussi, 2008
Palaeospheniscus bergi		Hospitaleche & Tambussi, 2008
Paraptenodytes antarcticus		Hospitaleche & Tambussi, 2008
Arthrodytes andrewsi		Hospitaleche & Tambussi, 2008
Madrynornis mirandus^[25]		Hospitaleche & Tambussi, 2008
Pachydyptes simpsoni		Park & Fitzgerald, 2012
Pachydyptes ponderosus		Giovanardi et al. 2021
Anthropodyptes gilli		Park & Fitzgerald, 2012
Pseudaptenodytes macraei		Park & Fitzgerald, 2012
Marambiornopsis sobrali		Jadwiszczak et al. 2021
Icadyptes salasi		Clarke et al. 2007
Kairuku waewaeroa		Giovanardi et al. 2021
Kairuku grebneffi		Giovanardi et al. 2021
Kairuku waitaki		Giovanardi et al. 2021
Glen Murray Kairuku sp.		Giovanardi et al. 2021
Platydyptes novaezealandiae		Giovanardi et al. 2021
Platydyptes marplesi		Giovanardi et al. 2021
Inkayacu paracasensis		Clarke et al. 2010
Pakudyptes hakataramea		Ando et al. 2024

Extinct species of extant genera


Species	Notes	Source
Spheniscus megaramphus		Hospitaleche & Tambussi, 2008
Spheniscus urbinai		Hospitaleche & Tambussi, 2008
Spheniscus chilensis		Hospitaleche & Tambussi, 2008
Spheniscus muizoni		Hospitaleche & Tambussi, 2008
Pygoscelis grandis		Hospitaleche & Tambussi, 2008
Pygoscelis tyreei
Pygoscelis calderensis		Hospitaleche & Tambussi, 2008
Eudyptes atatu		Thomas et al. 2020
Eudyptes warhami		Cole et al. 2019
Eudyptes calauina		Hoffmeister et al. 2014
Eudyptula wilsonae		Thomas et al. 2023
Megadyptes antipodes richdalei		Cole et al. 2019
Megadyptes antipodes waitaha		Cole et al. 2019
Aptenodytes ridgeni

Poorly understood taxa


Species	Notes	Source
Dege hendeyi
Inguza predemersus
Duntroonornis parvus
Nucleornis insolitus
Marplesornis novaezealandiae
Korora oliveri
Paraptenodytes robustus
Platydyptes amiesi

Invalid taxa


Species	Notes	Source
Tonniornis mesetaensis	Named on an isolated humerus which is unable to be compared to other species present in the same locality.	Ksepka & Clarke, 2010
Tonniornis minimum	Named on an isolated humerus which is unable to be compared to other species present in the same locality. Similar size to a specimen referred to Delphinornis larseni.	Ksepka & Clarke, 2010
Tereingaornis moisleyi	Genus is a nomen dubium due to lack of identifiable traits, but the specimen may belong to a new species (the Te Ringa Falls Penguin)	Thomas et al. 2019
Wimanornis seymourensis	Synonymous with Palaeeudypytes gunnari
Orthopteryx gigas		Hospitaleche and Reguero, 2010
Ichtyopteryx gracilis		Hospitaleche and Reguero, 2010
Palaeoapterodytes ictus		Hospitaleche, 2010
Psuedaptenodytes minor	Lack of diagnostic characteristics on the holotype	Park & Fitzgerald, 2012

The Early Oligocene genus Cruschedula was formerly thought to belong to Spheniscidae; however, re-examination of the holotype in 1943 resulted in the genus being placed in Accipitridae.^[26] Further examination in 1980 resulted in placement as Aves incertae sedis.^[27]

Notes

^ The IUCN follows the taxonomy proposed by the HBW and BirdLife Taxonomic Checklist.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P., eds. (July 2023). "Kagu, Sunbittern, tropicbirds, loons, penguins". IOC World Bird List. v 13.2. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b Winkler, David W.; Billerman, Shawn M.; Lovette, Irby J. (4 March 2020), Billerman, Shawn M.; Keeney, Brooke K.; Rodewald, Paul G.; Schulenberg, Thomas S. (eds.), "Penguins (Spheniscidae)", Birds of the World, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, doi:10.2173/bow.spheni1.01, retrieved 27 September 2023
^ ^a ^b ^c Davies, Lloyd S. (2010). The Penguins. Poyser Monographs. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 15–17. ISBN 978-1-4081-3330-9.
^ "Fossilworks: Spheniscidae". Paleobiology Database. University of Wisconsin–Madison. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
^ "Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7". HBW and BirdLife International. 2022. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
^ Clements, James F.; Schulenberg, T. S.; Iliff, M. J.; Fredericks, T. A.; Gerbracht, J. A.; Lepage, Denis; Billerman, S. M.; Sullivan, B. L.; Wood, C. L. (2022). "The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022". Clements Checklist. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
^ BirdLife International (2020). "Aptenodytes patagonicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22697748A184637776. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697748A184637776.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
^ BirdLife International (2020). "Aptenodytes forsteri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22697752A157658053. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697752A157658053.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
^ BirdLife International (2020). "Pygoscelis adeliae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22697758A157660553. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697758A157660553.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^ BirdLife International (2020). "Pygoscelis antarcticus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22697761A184807209. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697761A184807209.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^ BirdLife International (2020). "Pygoscelis papua". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22697755A157664581. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697755A157664581.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
^ BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptula minor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22697805A202126091. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697805A202126091.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
^ Bird life International (2020). "Spheniscus mendiculus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22697825A182729677. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697825A182729677.en. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
^ BirdLife International (2020). "Spheniscus humboldti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22697817A182714418. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697817A182714418.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
^ BirdLife International (2020). "Spheniscus magellanicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22697822A157428850. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697822A157428850.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
^ BirdLife International (2020). "Spheniscus demersus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22697810A157423361. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697810A157423361.en. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
^ BirdLife International (2020). "Megadyptes antipodes". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22697800A182703046. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697800A182703046.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^ BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptes chrysolophus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22697793A184720991. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697793A184720991.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^ BirdLife International (2022). "Eudyptes schlegeli". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022 e.T22697797A210894343. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
^ BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptes moseleyi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22734408A184698049. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22734408A184698049.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
^ BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptes chrysocome". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22735250A182762377. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22735250A182762377.en. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
^ BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptes pachyrhynchus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22697776A182279725. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697776A182279725.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
^ BirdLife International (2018). "Eudyptes robustus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018 e.T22697782A132602343. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22697782A132602343.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
^ BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptes sclateri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22697789A131879000. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697789A131879000.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
^ Acosta Hospitaleche; Tambussi; M. Donato; M. Cozzuol (2007). "A new Miocene penguin from Patagonia and its phylogenetic relationships" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 52 (2): 299–314.
^ Simpson, G.G. (1946). "Fossil penguins" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 81. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 August 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
^ Olson, S.L. (1985). "Faunal Turnover in South American Fossil Avifaunas: The Insufficiencies of the Fossil Record" (PDF). Evolution. 39 (5): 1174–1177. doi:10.2307/2408747. JSTOR 2408747. PMID 28561505. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 July 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2010.

Penguins are birds in the family Spheniscidae in the monotypic order Sphenisciformes.^[1] They inhabit high-productivity marine habitats, almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere; the only species to occur north of the Equator is the Galapagos penguin.^[2]^[3] The only group of birds other than the ratites to be entirely flightless, penguins are extremely adapted to their aquatic lifestyle, with a streamlined shape that minimizes drag, countershaded dark-and-white plumage,^[3] dense bones,^[2] powerful flippers, and insulating feathers that allow them to withstand very low temperatures on land and in water.^[3]