NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Eastern Rockhopper Penguin
Eudyptes filholi F. W. Hutton, 1879
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Photo of Eastern Rockhopper Penguin (undefined) uploaded from iNaturalist.
(c) Saryu Mae 前 朝琉, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The eastern rockhopper penguin (Eudyptes filholi), also known as the tawaki kaipiki toka (Māori: 'rock climber'), is a crested penguin with yellow crest feathers. It was formerly treated as conspecific with the western rockhopper penguin with the name "southern rockhopper penguin" for the combined species. It is one of the smallest crested penguins and has distinctive pink margins around its bill. It breeds on islands in the Southern Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Wikipedia contributors, Eastern rockhopper penguin; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:29:41.864187+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Eudyptes filholi F. W. Hutton, 1879
- Name authority
- F. W. Hutton, 1879
- Common name
- Eastern Rockhopper Penguin
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Sphenisciformes
- Family
- Spheniscidae
- Genus
- Eudyptes
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderSphenisciformes
- familySpheniscidae Bonaparte, 1831
- genusEudyptes Vieillot, 1816
- speciesEudyptes filholi F. W. Hutton, 1879
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Eudyptes. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Snares PenguinEudyptes robustus Oliver, 1953 | SpheniscidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Western Rockhopper PenguinEudyptes chrysocome (J. R. Forster, 1781) | SpheniscidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Northern Rockhopper PenguinEudyptes moseleyi Mathews & Iredale, 1921 | SpheniscidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Eudyptes chrysocome filholi F. W. Hutton, 1879 F. W. Hutton, 1879 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Australia
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Hutton, & Frederick Wollaston. (1879). On an Apparently New Species of Penguin, from Campbell Island. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, Vol. 3. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3C39Y. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.