Penguin Basics

How many species of penguins are there?

There are 18 recognized species of penguins, all belonging to the family Spheniscidae. They range from the tiny little blue penguin (around 30 cm tall) to the emperor penguin (up to 130 cm tall). These 18 species are distributed across 6 genera: Aptenodytes, Pygoscelis, Eudyptula, Spheniscus, Megadyptes, and Eudyptes. Some taxonomists debate whether certain populations should be split into additional species, but 18 is the most widely accepted count.