After watching the movies “Happy Feet”, “Madagascar” and the “Mr. Popper’s Penguins”, you or your child might wonder that “How Many Types of Penguins are There in this world. So whether you got curious after watching penguin movies or simply want to know the actual number of penguin species and their names then you have just come to the right place. We have a complied a brief overview as to how may types of penguins are there and linked them to the articles on our website in case if you want to know more about them.
How Many Types of Penguins are There
According to the International Penguin Conservation Working Group (IPCW), there are 17 types of penguins in this world. Some people argue that there are 20 species of penguin by counting the subspecies of Rockhopper penguins as a different species.
IPCW – Penguin Species List
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Galapagos Penguin
- Little Blue Penguin
- African Penguin
- King Penguin
- Chinstrap Penguin
- Magellanic Penguin
- Macaroni Penguin
- Adelie Penguin
- Humboldt Penguin
- Gentoo Penguin
- Royal Penguin
- Yellow Eyed Penguin
- Emperor Penguin
- Erect-crested Penguin
- Fiordland Penguins
- Snares Penguins
Alternate Penguin Species Classification
1. Great Penguins
2. Brush-tailed Penguins
3. Banded Penguins
4. Little Penguins
- Little Blue Penguin
- White-flippered Penguin
5. Yellow Eyed
6. Crested penguins
- Erect-crested Penguin
- Fiordland Penguins
- Snares Penguins
- Rockhopper Penguin
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- Western Rockhopper Penguin
- Eastern Rockhopper Penguin
- Northern Rockhopper Penguin
- Royal Penguin
- Macaroni Penguin
You have written that the Rockhopper Penguin is by far the smallest of the penguins, when in fact it is the Little Blue Penguin that is the smallest of all the penguin breeds.
You do say that both the Little Blue Penguin is the smallest and the Rockhoppers are the smallest but, if you’re trying to teach children about Penguins it might be confusing to them as to how both can be listed as the smallest of the Penguins.