Scientists stumble upon a brand new penguin species hidden for 300,000 years

A new species of penguins belonging to the genus Pygoscelis, also known as gentoo penguins, has been discovered. Called Pygoscelis kerguelensis, this lineage is only found on Kerguelen Island, a group of islands in the sub-Antarctic region, and possibly also the nearby Heard Island, an uninhabited island in the southern Indian Ocean. The Gentoo penguins reside on various islands across the South Pacific as well as Antarctica. Keeping track of these creatures is extremely difficult since they have extremely remote habitats. They are also "generalised eaters", meaning they will eat whatever is available in a given area. Because they aren't tied to a specific food source, their movement patterns are less predictable. A study published in the journal Communications Biology states that the total number of penguin species could soon increase by three, all of which are linked to the Gentoo penguins.

Gentoo penguins and their species

Rauri Bowie, a co-author of the study, said in a statement that the taxonomy of the gentoo has been highly debated and "for over 100 years it’s been controversial as to how many species or how many subspecies there are." The scientists set out to understand the genome better and analysed the genomes of 64 gentoo penguins from 10 different breeding colonies in their region. They found that the Antarctic Polar Front likely kicked off the speciation of gentoo penguins 300,000 to 500,000 years ago, and also came across thousands of genetic variations. The researchers further said that the gentoo do not comprise four subspecies, but four distinct species, including the Pygoscelis kerguelensis, a new species.

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Different adaptations in the penguins

All of them have specific adaptations to fit their environment. The southern gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis ellsworthi) lives on the Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia Island and has an abundant amount of genes related to fat and lipid storage as well as heat generation. Then there is the northern gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) that resides in South America and has been found to have more genes related to cardiac contraction and muscle excitation. This was probably to allow it to hunt in the water for a longer period of time.

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Gentoo penguins offer a view of how climate change will impact different species. For the ones in Antarctica, some species might expand as the world warms, as more land opens up with melting ice. The penguins who live on smaller islands could disappear or even go extinct as sea levels rise. Senior author Juliana Vianna said, “In terms of climate change, island species that have really low population sizes could be compared with the sub-Antarctic gentoo penguins." She added, “Galapagos and other island penguin species, because they’re endemic to these islands, will find no place to go after a change in their environment.”