Pygoscelis
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| Brush-tailed penguins | ||||||||||||||
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Pygoscelis adeliae |
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.
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.
[edit] Species photographs
Photographs of adult penguins of the extant (living) species:
 Chinstrap Penguin |
 Gentoo Penguin |
 Adelie Penguin |
[edit] References
- ^ Baker AJ, Pereira SL, Haddrath OP, Edge KA (2006). "Multiple gene evidence for expansion of extant penguins out of Antarctica due to global cooling". Proc Biol Sci. 273 (1582): 11-17. doi:.
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