Brush-tailed penguins Temporal range:
Eocene to present
| |
---|---|
Pygoscelis antarctica | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Sphenisciformes |
Family: | Spheniscidae |
Genus: |
Pygoscelis Wagler, 1832 |
Type species | |
Aptenodytes antarctica
[1] | |
Species | |
Pygoscelis adeliae |
The genus Pygoscelis ("rump-legged") contains three living species of penguins collectively known as "brush-tailed penguins". [2]
Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA evidence suggests the genus split from other penguins around 38 million years ago, about 2 million years after the ancestors of the genus Aptenodytes. In turn, the Adelie penguins split off from the other members of the genus around 19 million years ago. [3]
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Adélie penguin |
Pygoscelis adeliae (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841) |
Antarctica, Bouvet Island |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Chinstrap penguin |
Pygoscelis antarcticus (Forster, 1781) |
Antarctica, Argentina, Bouvet Island, Chile, the Falkland Islands, the French Southern Territories, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Gentoo penguin |
Pygoscelis papua (Forster, 1781) |
Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Kerguelen Islands |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
A 2020 study found that the gentoo penguin may actually comprise a
species complex of 4 similar but genetically distinct species: the northern gentoo penguin (P. papua), the southern gentoo penguin (P. ellsworthi), the eastern gentoo penguin (P. taeniata), and the newly-described South Georgia gentoo penguin (P. poncetii).
[4]
[5] However, in 2021 the
International Ornithological Congress recognized these as being
subspecies of P. papua.
[6]
A study has estimated that there are about 3.79 million pairs of Adélie, 387,000 pairs of gentoo, and 8 million pairs of chinstrap penguins in their particular areas, [7] making up 90% of Antarctic avian biomass. [8]
The latter two are tentatively assigned to this genus.
Brush-tailed penguins Temporal range:
Eocene to present
| |
---|---|
Pygoscelis antarctica | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Sphenisciformes |
Family: | Spheniscidae |
Genus: |
Pygoscelis Wagler, 1832 |
Type species | |
Aptenodytes antarctica
[1] | |
Species | |
Pygoscelis adeliae |
The genus Pygoscelis ("rump-legged") contains three living species of penguins collectively known as "brush-tailed penguins". [2]
Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA evidence suggests the genus split from other penguins around 38 million years ago, about 2 million years after the ancestors of the genus Aptenodytes. In turn, the Adelie penguins split off from the other members of the genus around 19 million years ago. [3]
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Adélie penguin |
Pygoscelis adeliae (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841) |
Antarctica, Bouvet Island |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Chinstrap penguin |
Pygoscelis antarcticus (Forster, 1781) |
Antarctica, Argentina, Bouvet Island, Chile, the Falkland Islands, the French Southern Territories, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Gentoo penguin |
Pygoscelis papua (Forster, 1781) |
Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Kerguelen Islands |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
A 2020 study found that the gentoo penguin may actually comprise a
species complex of 4 similar but genetically distinct species: the northern gentoo penguin (P. papua), the southern gentoo penguin (P. ellsworthi), the eastern gentoo penguin (P. taeniata), and the newly-described South Georgia gentoo penguin (P. poncetii).
[4]
[5] However, in 2021 the
International Ornithological Congress recognized these as being
subspecies of P. papua.
[6]
A study has estimated that there are about 3.79 million pairs of Adélie, 387,000 pairs of gentoo, and 8 million pairs of chinstrap penguins in their particular areas, [7] making up 90% of Antarctic avian biomass. [8]
The latter two are tentatively assigned to this genus.