Class: AVES

Order: SPHENISCIFORMES

Family: SPHENISCIDAE

Genus: EUDYPTULA

Species: MINOR, NOVAEHOLLANDIAE?

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, in the case of the Little Penguin, its ancestors seemingly stayed in Oceania, with island isolation probably leading to its tiny size. Recent genetic findings have discovered a second taxon in the Little Penguin's genus, separating the birds of Australia from those found elsewhere. The placement of this new taxon is debatable however, as to whether the genus is a single species with a subspecies, or a genus with two species, though the former is seemingly more popular.