The genus Aptenodytes contains two extant and one extinct 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, Aptenodytes ridgeni, an extinct species known from fossil bones of Early or Late Pliocene age.
Combined morphological and molecular data have shown the genus Aptenodytes to be basal to all other living penguins, that is, the genus split off from a branch which led to all other species. DNA evidence suggests this split occurred around 40 million years ago. This had been foreshadowed by an attempt to classify penguins by their behavior, which also predicted the genus' basal nature.
Species
Two species are extant: