Class: AVES

Order: SPHENISCIFORMES

Family: SPHENISCIDAE

Genus: EUDYPTULA

Species: MINOR, NOVAEHOLLANDIAE?

One species or two? Whilst there's no dispute that these penguins, at 30 centimetres tall, are the smallest in the world, there is some dispute as to whether it is a monotypic, one-species, genus with a subspecies, or a genus with two species.

As implied by its name, the smallest of all penguins. The species, reaching only some 30 centimetres in height, is native to costal regions of South Australia, as well as New Zealand. As well as 'Little Penguin', the bird has received other names, such as 'fairy penguin' or 'blue penguin', which reference its tiny size and bluish colour. It is perhaps the third-least diverged of the extant penguins, behind the genera containing giant and “brush-tailed” penguins. Peculiarly, although the other species of penguin are thought to have originated around Australia, many of these have since established populations elsewhere, such as Antarctica. However, this penguin has seemingly stayed in the same place as its ancestors seemingly had. Isolation probably lead to its distinctive size. In recent years, scientific research has found that the Little Penguin's genus may not be, in fact, monotypic as was thought for years - as genetic evidence indicates that the Australian Little Penguins are a separate species than those of elsewhere Oceania. However, the novaehollandiae penguins are more commonly classed on the subspecies ranking.