Pygoscelis.html



Brush-tailed penguins
Pygoscelis antarctica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Aves Order: Sphenisciformes Family: Spheniscidae Genus: Pygoscelis Wagler, 1832
Species
Pygoscelis adeliae Pygoscelis antarctica Pygoscelis papua Pygoscelis tyreei (fossil) Pygoscelis calderensis (fossil) Pygoscelis grandis (fossil)

The genus Pygoscelis ("elbow-legged") contains three living species of penguins collectively known as "The Brush-Tailed Penguins". Their appearance - black above, white below - is that of what most people think of when they think of penguins.

Taxonomy

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.¹

The three extant species are:

• Adelie Penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae
• Chinstrap Penguin, Pygoscelis antarctica
• Gentoo Penguin, Pygoscelis papua

Extinct species:

• Pygoscelis grandis (Bahía Inglesa Formation, Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Bahía Inglesa, Chile)
• Pygoscelis calderensis (Bahía Inglesa Formation, Late Miocene of Bahía Inglesa, Chile)
• Tyree's Penguin, Pygoscelis tyreei (Pliocene of New Zealand)

The latter two are tentatively assigned to this genus.

Species photographs

Photographs of adult penguins of the extant (living) species:

The three extant species of the genus

Chinstrap Penguin Pygoscelis antarctica

Gentoo Penguin Pygoscelis papua

Adelie Penguin Pygoscelis adeliae

References

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