Sphenisciformes
- sphen (Gr): a wedge
- -iscus (New L) derived from –iskos meaning ‘a little wedge’, referring to the shape and shortness of the wings
- Eudyptes crestatus (Rockhopper Penguin)
- Pygoscelis adeliae (Adélie Penguin)
- named after Terre Adélie, wife of Admiral J.S. C. Dumont d’Urville (1790-1842) who found these penguins in the French sector of the Antarctic
- puge (Gr): the rump
- skelos (Gr): the leg, referring to the position of the legs which are set well back on the body and more on the rump
- Aptenodytes forsteri (Emperor Penguin)
- named after Johann R. Forster (1729-1798), a German traveler and ornithologist who was on the H.M.S. Resolution from 1772 to 1775
- largest of the penguins standing more than 1 metre (4 feet)
- a- (Gr): without
- ptenos (Gr): feathered, winged
- dutes (Gr): a diver or a ‘wingless diver’
- Aptenodytes patagonica (King Penguin)
- Patagonia is the southern region of South America
- almost as big as the Emporer Penguin and thus the name
- Eudyptes chrysolophus (Macaroni Penguin)
- ‘Macaroni’ is derived from the unusual structure of the yellow feathers that form the crest
- eu- (Gr): well or nicely
- duptes: a diver
- khrusos (Gr): gold
- lophos (Gr): a crest or tuft on the head of bird
- Megadyptes antipodes (Yellow-eyed Penguin)
- megas (Gr): great
- duptes (Gr): a diver
- antipodes: two points on opposites sides of the earth and sometimes used to mean Australia or New Zealand
- Spheniscus demersus (Jackass Penguin)
- named for its donkey-like call
- sphen (Gr): a wedge
- -iscus (New L) derived from –iskos meaning ‘a little wedge’, referring to the shape and shortness of the wings
- demergo (L): I sink or I submerge
- demersus (L): depressed
- Spheniscus mendiculus (Galapagos Penguin)
- inhabits the Galapagos and neighbouring islands
- mendicus (L): beggerly or needy
- -culus (L): a suffix meaning ‘small’; the opposite of regillus (L) meaning royal or magnificent, referring to it being one of the smallest penguins standing about 50 cm (20 in) tall
Spheniscidae – 16 species
