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The gentoo penguin ( ) ( Pygoscelis papua) is a penguin species (or possibly a species complex) in the genus Pygoscelis, most closely related to the Adélie penguin ( P. adeliae) and the chinstrap penguin ( P. antarcticus). The earliest scientific description was made in 1781 by Johann Reinhold Forster with a type locality in the Falkland Islands. The species calls in a variety of ways, but the most frequently heard is a loud trumpeting, which the bird emits with its head thrown back.Woods, R.W. (1975) Birds of the Falkland Islands, Antony Nelson, Shropshire, UK.
It may also be a variation of another name for this bird, "Johnny penguin", with Johnny being the Spanish counterpart of Juanito and sounding vaguely like gentoo. The Johnny rook, a predator, is likely named after the Johnny penguin.
The specific name papua is a misnomer; in the original description, Johann Reinhold Forster, a naturalist who had circumnavigated the world with Captain James Cook, mistakenly assumed that the species occurred in Papua (New Guinea), the closest gentoos being over to the south (on Macquarie Island). No penguins are found in New Guinea. Others trace the error to a "possibly fraudulent claim" in 1776 by French naturalist Pierre Sonnerat, who also alleged a Papuan location for the king penguin despite never having been to the island himself.
There are four subspecies recognized by the International Ornithological Congress:
| Crozet Islands, Prince Edward Islands, Kerguelen Islands, Heard Island, and Macquarie Island |
| Falkland Islands, Martillo Island in the Beagle Channel, and Isla de los Estados (Argentina) |
| the Antarctic Peninsula, the South Orkney Islands, South Shetland Islands and South Sandwich Islands |
| South Georgia |
Although the population on the Kerguelen Islands is tentatively included in taeniata, it may also be a distinct subspecies.
Before 2021, only two subspecies of the gentoo penguin had been recognised: P. p. papua (subantarctic gentoo) and the smaller P. p. ellsworthi (Antarctic gentoo). However, a 2020 study suggested that the gentoo penguin be split into a species complex of four morphologically similar but separate species: the northern gentoo penguin ( P. papua sensu stricto), the southern gentoo penguin ( P. ellsworthi), the eastern gentoo penguin ( P. taeniata) and the newly described South Georgia gentoo penguin ( P. poncetii). The International Ornithological Congress incorporated the results of this study in 2021, but relegated the newly recognized or newly described species to subspecies of P. papua.
Gentoo penguins can reach a length of , making them the third-largest species of penguin after the emperor penguin and the king penguin. Males have a maximum weight around just before moulting and a minimum weight of about just before mating. For females, the maximum weight is just before moulting, but their weight drops to as little as when guarding the chicks in the nest. Birds from the north are on average heavier and longer than the southern birds. Southern gentoo penguins reach in length. They are the fastest underwater swimmers of all penguins, reaching speeds up to . Gentoos are well adapted to extremely cold and harsh climates.
Gentoos breed on many subantarctic islands. The main colonies are on the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and Kerguelen Islands; smaller colonies are found on: Macquarie Island, Heard Islands, Crozet Islands, South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. The total breeding population is estimated to be over 600,000 birds. Nests are usually made from a roughly circular pile of stones and can be quite large, high and in diameter. The stones are jealously guarded, and their ownership can be the subject of noisy disputes and physical attacks between individuals. They are also prized by the females, even to the point that a male penguin can obtain the favours of a female by offering her a choice stone.
Two eggs are laid, both weighing around . The parents share incubation, changing duty daily. The eggs hatch after 34 to 36 days. The chicks remain in the nests for around 30 days before joining other chicks in the colony and forming crèches. The chicks moult into subadult plumage and go out to sea at around 80 to 100 days.
Gentoos are opportunistic feeders, and around the Falklands are known to take roughly equal proportions of fish ( Patagonotothen sp., Thysanopsetta naresi, Micromesistius australis), ( Munida gregaria) and squid ( Loligo gahi, Gonatus antarcticus, Moroteuthis ingens). Other prey include Channichthys rhinoceratus and .
Gentoo penguins do not store as much fat as Adélie penguins, their closest relative; gentoos require less energy investment when hunting because the net gain of energy after hunting is greater in gentoos than Adélies. As embryos, gentoos require a lot of energy to develop. Oxygen consumption is high for a developing gentoo embryo. As the embryo grows and requires more oxygen, consumption increases exponentially until the gentoo chick hatches. By then, the chick is consuming around 1800 ml O2 per day.
The 2011 film adaption of Mr. Popper's Penguins features six gentoo penguins named Captain, Lovey, Loudy, Bitey, Stinky, and Nimrod.
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