Penguin Seabird

The penguins (Spheniscidae) are a group of flightless seabirds of the southern hemisphere and form the only family in the order Sphenisciformes. Their phylogenetic sister group is probably the loons (Gaviiformes) and tube-noses (Procellariiformes). Penguins are easily distinguished from all other birds and are outstandingly adapted to life in the sea and in the sometimes extreme cold zones of the earth.

Penguins live in the open seas of the southern hemisphere. There they are found in particular in the coastal waters of Antarctica, New Zealand, southern Australia, South Africa, Namibia (Penguin Islands), southern Angola, on the Falkland Islands off South America and up the west coast to Peru, as well as on the Galápagos Islands located on the equator. As cold-loving birds, they occur in tropical areas only when cold-water currents exist; this is the case, for example, on the west coast of South America with the Humboldt Current or around South Africa with the Benguela Current at the Cape Peninsula.

Most species live roughly between latitudes 45 and 60 degrees south; the largest numbers of individuals are found around Antarctica and on nearby islands. No penguins live in the northern hemisphere, with the exception of zoo animals and part of the population of the Galápagos penguin on the equatorial Galápagos island of Isabela.