How many species of penguin exist?
Home Up Are penguins Birds? Name for a group of penguins? Do penguins mate for life? Origin of the name 'penguin'? Why no penguins in the North? How do penguins keep cool/warm? Why white fronts and black backs? How long do parents raise chicks? What is the taxonomy of penguins? How fast do penguins swim? Do penguins have tongues? Do penguins have knees? How are penguins exploited? Friendship / Enemies Why don't penguins' feet freeze? Why do penguins form huddles? What is a penguin's environment? What is a penguin's temperature? Why do penguins waddle? How do penguins navigate? How do you tell male / female? What are penguins' predators? Do penguins migrate? How do Emperors withstand cold? Holding its breath in a dive What is a penguin's diet? What are young penguins called? How many species of penguin exist? Can I keep a penguin as a pet? Names for male/female penguins? Penguins position in the food chain? Do penguins have ears? How do penguins sleep? How tall is the tallest penguin? How long do penguins live? How sharp is a penguins beak? Do penguins walk a long way? Why can't penguins fly? What sounds do penguins make? How are penguins adapted?

 

How many species of penguin are there?

There is always some doubt about exactly how to define a species. So there is often confusion about what distinguishes a species from a sub-species.

Penguin biologists have argued about this for many years. Currently most agree on 17 species, but some prefer to split one or more of these 17 species (Little into Little Blue and White Flippered or Rockhopper into 3 separate species) to make 18 or even 20 species, while others prefer to lump two of the species (Macaroni and Royal) together making only 16.

We have chosen to use the mostly generally recognised definition of 17 species on our web site - this is the classification used in the recent authoritative Conservation Assessment and Management Plan for penguins published by the IUCN.