Eudyptula
Genus of birds
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The genus Eudyptula from Ancient Greek εὖ (eû), meaning "well", δύπτης (dúptes), meaning "diver", and Latin -ula, a diminutive suffix, contains a single species of penguin, found in southern Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands). It is commonly known as the little penguin, little blue penguin, or, in Australia, fairy penguin. In the language of the Māori people of New Zealand, little penguins are known as kororā.[3]
| Eudyptula Temporal range: [1] | |
|---|---|
| |
| Little penguin near burrow at night, Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Sphenisciformes |
| Family: | Spheniscidae |
| Genus: | Eudyptula Bonaparte, 1856 |
| Type species | |
| Aptenodytes minor[2] | |
| Species | |
For many years, a white-flippered form of the little penguin found only in North Canterbury, New Zealand was considered either a separate species, Eudyptula albosignata, or just a subspecies, Eudyptula minor albosignata. Analysis of mtDNA revealed that Eudyptula falls instead into two groups: a western one, found along the southern coast of Australia and the Otago region of New Zealand, and another found in the rest of New Zealand.[4] E. novaehollandiae probably arrived in New Zealand from Australia less than 500 years ago, following the local extinction of E. minor in Otago.[5]
Classification
Order Sphenisciformes
- Family Spheniscidae
- Genus Eudyptula
- Eudyptula minor – little penguin
- †Eudyptula wilsonae[1]
- Genus Eudyptula
Extant Species
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Eudyptula minor | little penguin | New Zealand, Chatham Islands, Southern Australia, Otago |
Fossil species
| Image | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| Eudyptula wilsonae[1] | Tangahoe Formation, Taranaki, New Zealand | |