Scientists identify new penguin species after century
Genomic analysis has revealed that gentoo penguins comprise four distinct species, including the newly identified southeastern gentoo, Pygoscelis kerguelensis, on the remote Kerguelen Islands—the first penguin species newly named in more than a century. Researchers warn that three of the four species could face severe habitat loss, underscoring conservation risks that may be obscured when the penguins are treated as one species.
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About Gentoo Penguin
The gentoo penguin is a species complex in the genus Pygoscelis, most closely related to the Adélie penguin and the Chinstrap penguin. The earliest scientific description was made in 1781 by Johann Reinhold Forster with a type locality in the Falkland Islands. The species calls in a variety of ways, but the most frequently heard is a loud, trumpeting call, emitted with the head thrown back. A new gentoo penguin species, Pygoscelis kerguelensis sp. nov., was discovered in April 2026 in the Kerguelen Islands.
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