List of Sphenisciformes by population

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This is a list of Sphenisciformes species by global population. While numbers are estimates, they have been made by the experts in their fields.

Contents

Sphenisciformes (from the Latin for "wedge-shaped") is the taxonomic order to which the penguins belong. The IOC World Bird List recognizes 19 species of Sphenisciformes. [1] BirdLife International has assessed 18 species (95% of total species), all of which have had their population estimated. This list follows IUCN classifications for species names and taxonomy. Where IUCN classifications differ from other ornithological authorities, alternative names and taxonomies are noted.

A variety of methods are used for counting penguins, and April 2012 saw their first census from space, when imagery from Ikonos, QuickBird-2, and WorldView-2 satellites were used to count Antarctican emperors. [2] This is a similar technique to that used by the UNHCR to count humans in Somalia. [3] Most maritime surveys use strip transect and distance sampling to measure density; this is then extrapolated over the animal's range. [4] The Galapagos has been counted annually since 1961 by the Galápagos National Park Service. By land and sea, they carry out a full census in ten areas and partial census in four. The 2012 observation of 721 birds showed that levels have remained the same over recent years, and the current full estimate need not be changed. [5] For more information on how these estimates were ascertained, see Wikipedia's articles on population biology and population ecology.

Species that can no longer be included in a list of this nature include the Waitaha penguin, the last of which is believed to have perished between 1300 and 1500 AD (soon after the Polynesian arrival to New Zealand), and the Chatham penguin, which is only known through subfossils but may have been kept in captivity sometime between 1867 and 1872. [6] [7] Adélies and emperors nest on Antarctica and feed on broken pack ice; global warming's effect on the latter may affect their numbers, and the chinstraps and gentoo, which both feed in open waters, have been making inroads into the Adélie and emperors' formerly ice-packed range. The gentoo have thus seen 7500% population growth since 1974, and the chinstraps 2700%. [8]

Species by global population

Common name Binomial name Population Status TrendNotesImage
Galapagos penguin Spheniscus mendiculus1,200 [9] EN [9] Decrease2.svg [9] Galapagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) male.jpg
Yellow-eyed penguin Megadyptes antipodes2,600-3,000 [10] EN [10] Decrease2.svg [10] Yellow-eyed Penguin 3.jpg
Fiordland penguin Eudyptes pachyrhynchus12,500-50,000 [11] VU [11] Decrease2.svg [11] Eudyptes pachyrhynchus 4342035.jpg
African penguin Spheniscus demersus19,800 [12] CR [12] Decrease2.svg [12] Number of total adult birds is estimated to be 31,680. [12] African Penguin at Boulders Beach.jpg
Humboldt penguin Spheniscus humboldti23,800 [13] VU [13] Decrease2.svg [13] Values is considered the maximum estimate for breeding population. [13] Schwimmender-Pinguin.jpg
Snares penguin Eudyptes robustus63,000 [14] VU [14] Steady2.svg [14] Snares Penguin (Eudyptes robustus) -group.jpg
Erect-crested penguin Eudyptes sclateri150,000 [15] EN [15] Decrease2.svg [15] Population breeds in two locations: the Bounty Islands (26,000 pairs), & the Antipodes Islands (34,226 pairs). [15] Eudyptes sclateri 129036290.jpg
Northern rockhopper penguin Eudyptes moseleyi413,700 [16] EN [16] Decrease2.svg [16] Eudyptes moseleyi -Zoologischer Garten Berlin, Germany-8a.jpg
Little penguin Eudyptula minor469,760 [17] LC [17] Steady2.svg [17] Eudyptula minor family exiting burrow.jpg
Emperor penguin Aptenodytes forsteri513,000 [18] NT [18] Steady2.svg [18] Estimate based on an approximate 256,500 breeding pairs counted from satellite images. [18] Emperor penguins.jpg
Gentoo penguin Pygoscelis papua774,000 [19] LC [19] Decrease2.svg [19] Falkland Islands Penguins 69.jpg
Royal penguin Eudyptes schlegeli1,340,000-1,660,000 [20] LC [20] ? [20] Best estimate for mature individuals is 1.5 million individuals. RoyalPenguins5.JPG
King penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus2,168,640-2,456,640 [21] LC [21] Increase2.svg [21] Values are an estimate for mature individuals; IUCN reports an estimated "1.1 million annual breeding pairs (range 1,084,320-1,228,320)." [21] Konigspinguine (Aptenodytes patagonicus) (1).jpg
Magellanic penguin Spheniscus magellanicus2,200,000-3,200,000 [22] LC [22] Decrease2.svg [22] Magellanic penguin.jpg
Southern rockhopper penguin

(Western rockhopper penguin)

Eudyptes chrysocome2,500,000 [23] VU [23] Decrease2.svg [23] IOC taxonomic guidance splits Eastern rockhopper penguin into its own species from this species. [1]

IUCN/BirdLife International currently retain both species within E. chrysocome. [24]

Falkland Islands Penguins 88.jpg
Chinstrap penguin Pygoscelis antarcticus8,000,000 [25] LC [25] Decrease2.svg [25] Pygoscelis antarcticus head.jpg
Adélie penguin Pygoscelis adeliae10,000,000 [26] LC [26] Increase2.svg [26] Antarctic adelie penguins (js) 21.jpg
Macaroni penguin Eudyptes chrysolophus12,600,000 [27] VU [27] Decrease2.svg [27] Population is estimated at 6.3 million breeding pairs; main population centres at Isles Crozet (2.2 million pairs, with 1 million on Île des Pingouins), Heard Island (1 million pairs), Kerguelen (1.8 million pairs), & South Georgia (1 million pairs). [27] Eudyptes chrysolophus -Antarctic-54.jpg


See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Kagu, Sunbittern, tropicbirds, loons, penguins – IOC World Bird List". www.worldbirdnames.org. Retrieved 2025-12-22.
  2. ↑ Dell'Amore, Christine (13 April 2012). "Emperor Penguins Counted From Space—A First". National Geographic News. National Geographic. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  3. ↑ Yusuf, Mohammed (29 June 2012). "UNHCR Tries to Count Somalia". Voice of America . Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  4. ↑ Southwell, C.; Low, M. (2009). "Black and white or shades of grey? Detectability of Adélie penguins during shipboard surveys in the Antarctic pack-ice". Journal of Applied Ecology. 46: 136–143. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01584.x.
  5. ↑ "Annual Galapagos Penguin and Cormorant Census". GNP News. Proceso de Relaciones Públicas – Parque Nacional Galápagos – Ecuador. 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  6. ↑ Fox, Rebecca (2008-11-20). "Ancient species of penguin found in DNA of bones". Otago Daily Times . Archived from the original on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  7. ↑ A.J.D. Tennyson and P.R. Millener (1994). Bird extinctions and fossil bones from Mangere Island, Chatham Islands [ permanent dead link ], Notornis (Supplement) 41, 165–178.
  8. ↑ Than, Ker (1 Dec 2008). "3/4 of Big Antarctic Penguin Colonies to Disappear?". National Geographic News. National Geographic. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  9. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2020). "Spheniscus mendiculus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T22697825A182729677. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697825A182729677.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2020). "Megadyptes antipodes". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T22697800A182703046. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697800A182703046.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptes pachyrhynchus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T22697776A182279725. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697776A182279725.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2024). "Spheniscus demersus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2024 e.T22697810A256021744. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22697810A256021744.en . Retrieved 2025-12-22.
  13. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2020). "Spheniscus humboldti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T22697817A182714418. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697817A182714418.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2018). "Eudyptes robustus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018 e.T22697782A132602343. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22697782A132602343.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptes sclateri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T22697789A131879000. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697789A131879000.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  16. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptes moseleyi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T22734408A184698049. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22734408A184698049.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  17. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2021). "Eudyptula minor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021 e.T22697805A202126091. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697805A202126091.en . Retrieved 2025-12-22.
  18. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2020). "Aptenodytes forsteri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T22697752A157658053. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697752A157658053.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  19. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2020). "Pygoscelis papua". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T22697755A157664581. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697755A157664581.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  20. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2022). "Eudyptes schlegeli". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2022 e.T22697797A210894343. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T22697797A210894343.en . Retrieved 2025-12-22.
  21. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2020). "Aptenodytes patagonicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T22697748A184637776. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697748A184637776.en . Retrieved 2025-12-22.
  22. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2020). "Spheniscus magellanicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T22697822A157428850. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697822A157428850.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  23. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptes chrysocome". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T22735250A182762377. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22735250A182762377.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  24. ↑ Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International Digital Checklist of the Birds of the World: Version 10. BirdLife International. 2025.
  25. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2020). "Pygoscelis antarcticus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T22697761A184807209. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697761A184807209.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  26. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2020). "Pygoscelis adeliae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T22697758A157660553. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697758A157660553.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  27. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptes chrysolophus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 e.T22697793A184720991. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697793A184720991.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
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