Yellow-eyed Penguin

Open encyclopedia reference

The yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes), known also as hoiho, is a species of penguin endemic to New Zealand. It is the sole extant species in the genus Megadyptes, from Ancient Greek μέγας (mégas), meaning "large", and δύπτης (dúptes), meaning "diver". Previously thought closely related to the little penguin (Eudyptula minor), molecular research has shown it more closely related to penguins of the genus Eudyptes. Like most penguins, it is mainly piscivorous. The species breeds along the eastern and south-eastern coastlines of the South Island of New Zealand, as well as Stewart Island, Auckland Islands, and Campbell Islands. Colonies on the Otago Peninsula are a popular tourist venue, where visitors may closely observe penguins from hides, trenches, or tunnels. On the New Zealand mainland, the species has experienced a significant decline over the past 20 years. On the Otago Peninsula, numbers have dropped by 75% since the mid-1990s and population trends indicate the possibility of regional extinction from the peninsula in the next 20 to 40 years.

Wikipedia contributors, Yellow-eyed penguin; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:39:36.900761+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Megadyptes antipodes (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841)

Name authority

(Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841)

Common name

Yellow-eyed Penguin

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Sphenisciformes

Family

Spheniscidae

Genus

Megadyptes

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderSphenisciformes
10. familySpheniscidae Bonaparte, 1831
11. genusMegadyptes Milne-Edwards, 1880
12. speciesMegadyptes antipodes (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841)

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 14 records assigned to Spheniscidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

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.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=174457 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

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:3YTL7. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.