First New Penguin Species in a Century Named in Kerguelens

Scientists named the southeastern gentoo penguin, the first new penguin species since 1921, and warned climate change threatens three of four gentoos.

Scientists have identified a new penguin species for the first time in more than a century. The southeastern gentoo penguin (*Pygoscelis kerguelensis*) lives on the remote Kerguelen and Heard Islands in the southern Indian Ocean, around 1,200 miles north of Antarctica. According to bdnews24.com, the last newly named penguin species was the northern rockhopper penguin in 1921. Although it looks nearly identical to other gentoos — black back, white belly, orange beak — its DNA told a different story, revealing it as a distinct evolutionary lineage rather than a subspecies.

The reason is partly geography. Gentoos nest across isolated islands in the Southern Hemisphere, with colonies separated by thousands of kilometres of ocean, and the birds stay close to their breeding sites rather than migrating. According to the New York Post, researchers contend the gentoos' flexible diet — fish, krill, squid and cuttlefish — keeps them feeding locally and nesting in the same spots year after year. That philopatry, combined with the ocean barrier of the Antarctic Polar Front, let isolated populations diverge genetically over roughly 300,000 to 500,000 years.

A 22-scientist team from the United States and Chile, led by researchers from Chile and the University of California, Berkeley, published its findings in the journal Communications Biology in April 2026. According to News9live, the researchers analysed the complete genetic information of 64 penguins collected from 10 breeding colonies, then compared physical appearance, feeding habits and breeding behaviour. The result: gentoos comprise four species — northern (*P. papua*), southern (*P. ellsworthi*), eastern (*P. taeniata*) and southeastern (*P. kerguelensis*), the latter newly described.

The genetics reveal distinct environmental adaptations. According to a UC Berkeley media statement cited by bdnews24.com, the southern gentoo carries more genes linked to heat generation, fat and lipid storage and light perception, suited to its cold Antarctic habitat. The same statement, per bdnews24.com, says the eastern gentoo has more genes tied to enhanced diving capacity and energy-efficient carbohydrate metabolism. Rauri Bowie of UC Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology told the New York Post that no penguin's taxonomy has been more debated, with the species question controversial for over 100 years.

The discovery comes with a worrying twist. Researchers project that warming oceans could reduce suitable habitat for three of the four gentoo species by 2050, and the newly named southeastern gentoo is among those facing potential losses. Juliana Vianna, a senior author and professor at Andrés Bello National University in Santiago, said in the UC Berkeley statement, as reported by bdnews24.com, that the gentoo is of most concern in the sub-Antarctic region and that conservation institutions must act to protect the three threatened species. Only the southern gentoo, which lives in Antarctica, may expand its range.

The formal recognition of four gentoo species gives conservationists a sharper map for protecting individual populations, and News9live reports the study could help develop protection plans targeted at each lineage. For nature watchers, the takeaway is that even familiar, seemingly uniform birds can hide deep diversity, resolvable only with whole-genome analysis.