Pygoscelis
| Brush-tailed penguins Temporal range: Eocene to present |
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|---|---|
 |
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| Pygoscelis antarctica | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Sphenisciformes |
| Family: | Spheniscidae |
| Genus: |
Pygoscelis Wagler, 1832 |
| Species | |
|
Pygoscelis adeliae |
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Pygoscelis adeliae
Pygoscelis antarctica
Pygoscelis papua
†Pygoscelis tyreei (fossil)
†Pygoscelis calderensis (fossil)
†Pygoscelis grandis (fossil)
The genus Pygoscelis ("rump-legged") contains three living species of penguins collectively known as "brush-tailed 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.
The three extant species are:
Extinct species:
The latter two are tentatively assigned to this genus.
Photographs of adult penguins of the extant (living) species:
Chinstrap penguin
Pygoscelis antarctica
Gentoo penguin
Pygoscelis papua
Adélie penguin
Pygoscelis adeliae
...
Wikipedia