How Many Species of Penguins Are There? The Full List

Why the number of penguin species varies

Penguins are a well-studied group, but scientists still debate where to draw the line between a species and a subspecies. Genetic studies have revealed hidden differences between populations that look almost identical, while other forms that look different turn out to be very closely related.

The main points of disagreement are:

• Royal penguin: some authorities treat it as a separate species, others as a pale-faced form of the macaroni penguin. Counting it as part of the macaroni gives 17 species.
• Gentoo penguin: genetic studies suggest that gentoos on different island groups may be separate species, and some lists now split the gentoo into two or more.
• Little penguin: research has proposed splitting the Australian and some New Zealand populations into a separate species, sometimes called the white-flippered or Australian little penguin.

Accepting these splits pushes the total to 19 or 20. The list below follows the widely used count of 18.

The 18 penguin species

The six genera of penguins

Great penguins (Aptenodytes): the two largest species, the emperor and the king. They lay a single egg and carry it on their feet instead of building a nest. The emperor penguin breeds on Antarctic sea ice in winter, while the king penguin breeds on beaches of sub-Antarctic islands such as South Georgia and the Crozet Islands.

Brush-tailed penguins (Pygoscelis): the Adélie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins, named for their long, stiff tail feathers. They build nests of stones and are the most common penguins around the Antarctic Peninsula. The gentoo is often described as the fastest swimmer of all penguins.

Crested penguins (Eudyptes): the largest genus, with yellow or orange head plumes and red bills. They include the macaroni, rockhoppers and several New Zealand species. Most lay two eggs but raise only one chick.

Yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes): a single species from New Zealand, with pale yellow eyes and a yellow band around the head. It nests in coastal forest and scrub, apart from other pairs, and is one of the rarest penguins.

Little penguin (Eudyptula): the smallest penguin, with slate-blue upperparts. It comes ashore at dusk to burrows on the coasts of southern Australia and New Zealand.

Banded penguins (Spheniscus): four species with black and white bands across the face and chest, nesting in burrows or under rocks. They live in warmer waters than most penguins, from southern Africa to South America and the Galápagos. The African penguin is the only penguin that breeds in Africa.

Largest and smallest penguins

The emperor penguin is the largest living species, typically 22–45 kg (49–99 lb). The king penguin is second at about 9–18 kg (20–40 lb). At the other end, the little penguin weighs only about 1–1.5 kg (2–3 lb).

In general, the biggest penguins live in the coldest places. Large bodies lose heat more slowly, which helps the emperor and king survive in or near Antarctica, while small species like the little and Galápagos penguins live in milder seas.

Where penguins live

Penguins are found almost entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. Only the emperor and Adélie penguins breed mainly on the Antarctic continent. Most species live on sub-Antarctic islands or the coasts of South America, southern Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The Galápagos penguin is the only species that reaches north of the equator, by just a few kilometers. For more, see where do penguins live?

How many penguin species are threatened?

Penguins are one of the most threatened groups of seabirds. On the IUCN Red List, 11 of the 18 species are classed as threatened:

• Critically Endangered (1): African penguin.
• Endangered (5): emperor, northern rockhopper, erect-crested, yellow-eyed and Galápagos penguins.
• Vulnerable (5): macaroni, southern rockhopper, Fiordland, Snares and Humboldt penguins.

The main threats include climate change, shortages of fish and krill caused by changing seas and overfishing, oil spills, disease, and introduced predators on breeding islands. The emperor penguin was moved to Endangered in 2026 because of sea ice loss; see are emperor penguins endangered?

Extinct penguins

Many more penguins once existed. Fossils show that penguins appeared at least 60 million years ago in the region of New Zealand and Antarctica, and dozens of extinct species are known. Some giants of the past stood as tall as an adult person. A few species have disappeared since humans arrived, such as the Waitaha penguin of New Zealand, which vanished several hundred years ago.