Aptenodytes
The genus Aptenodytes contains two extant species of penguins collectively known as "the great penguins".
Taxonomy
- King penguin, Aptenodytes patagonicus
- *Aptenodytes patagonicus patagonicus
- *Aptenodytes patagonicus halli
- Emperor penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri
- Ridgen's penguin is an extinct species known from fossil bones of Early or Late Pliocene age.
This had been foreshadowed by an attempt to classify penguins by their behaviour, which also predicted the genus' basal nature.
Species
Two monotypic species extant:| Aptenodytes | Aptenodytes | Aptenodytes | Aptenodytes |
| Common and binomial names | Image | Description | Range |
| Emperor penguin | 122 cm tall, weighing 22–37 kg, the adult has deep black dorsal feathers, covering the head, chin, throat, back, dorsal part of the flippers, and tail. The underparts of the wings and belly are white, becoming pale yellow in the upper breast, ear patches are bright yellow. The upper mandible is black, and the lower mandible can be pink, orange or lilac. Males and females are similar in size and colouration. | Circumpolar distribution in the Antarctic between the 66° and 77° S. It almost always breeds on stable pack ice near the coast and up to offshore. | |
| King penguin | 90 cm tall, weighing 11 to 16 kg, The upperparts are steel blue-grey, darkening to black on the head, the belly is white fading to orange on the upper breast with bright orange ear patches. The black bill is long and slender. The lower mandible bears a striking pink or orange-coloured mandibular plate | Breeds on the subantarctic islands between 45° and 55° S at the northern reaches of Antarctica, as well as Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, and other temperate islands of the region. |