Yellow-eyed penguin

Yellow-eyed penguin
At Curio Bay, Southland District, New Zealand
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Sphenisciformes
Family: Spheniscidae
Genus: Megadyptes
Species:
M. antipodes
Binomial name
Megadyptes antipodes
(Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841)
Subspecies

Megadyptes antipodes antipodes
Megadyptes antipodes waitaha †
Megadyptes antipodes richdalei †

Distribution of yellow-eyed penguin

The yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes), known also as hoiho, is a species of penguin endemic to New Zealand.[2][3] It is the sole extant species in the genus Megadyptes.

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 / Rakiura, 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 local extinction in the next 20 to 40 years. While the effect of rising ocean temperatures is still being studied, an infectious outbreak in the mid-2000s played a large role in the drop. Human activities at sea (fisheries, pollution) may have an equal if not greater influence on the species' downward trend.[4]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2020). "Megadyptes antipodes". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22697800A182703046. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697800A182703046.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Yellow-eyed penguin". New Zealand Birds Online. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Yellow-eyed penguin/hoiho". www.doc.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  4. ^ Mattern T, Meyer S, Ellenberg U, Houston DM, Darby JD, Young M, van Heezilk Y, Seddon PJ (2017). "Quantifying climate change impacts emphasises the importance of managing regional threats in the endangered Yellow-eyed penguin". PeerJ. 5: e3272. doi:10.7717/peerj.3272. PMC 5436559. PMID 28533952.