The First 'New Penguin' in a Century: Southeast Gentoo Penguin Officially Named on a Remote Island

Why it's delightful

For the first time in more than a century, scientists have given penguins a new name — the southeast gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis kerguelensis), living on the remote Kerguelen Islands in the Indian Ocean, about 450 km from the nearest landmass.

How it was found

An international team led by UC Berkeley and Chilean institutions sequenced the full genomes of 64 penguins and discovered that what was thought to be a single gentoo penguin species is actually four distinct species — northern, eastern, southern and southeastern. The study is published in Communications Biology.

A warning too

Scientists warn that some populations could lose their habitat to ocean warming by 2050.