Mitogenomes Uncover Extinct Penguin Taxa and Reveal Island Formation as a Key Driver of Speciation

A groundbreaking analysis of penguin mitogenomes reveals that island formation has been a pivotal driver of penguin speciation, with multiple recently extinct taxa emerging on geologically young islands. The study identifies two new extinct penguin species from New Zealand's Chatham Islands: Eudyptes warhami and a dwarf subspecies of the yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes richdalei), which diverged shortly after the islands' emergence around 3 million years ago. Using fossil-calibrated phylogenies, researchers demonstrate that island-endemic penguins, including those from the Galápagos, Gough, Antipodes, Snares, and Macquarie Islands, underwent rapid diversification during the Plio-Pleistocene. This work underscores the profound impact of island formation on penguin evolution while highlighting the severe consequences of anthropogenic extinctions on isolated archipelagos.

Cole, T. L., Ksepka, D. T., Mitchell, K. J., Tennyson, A. J. D., Thomas, D. B., Pan, H., Zhang, G., Rawlence, N. J., Wood, J. R., Bover, P., Bouzat, J. L., Cooper, A., Fiddaman, S. R., Hart, T., Miller, G., Ryan, P. G., Shepherd, L. D., Wilmshurst, J. M., & Waters, J. M. (2019). Mitogenomes Uncover Extinct Penguin Taxa and Reveal Island Formation as a Key Driver of Speciation. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 36(4), 784–797. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msz017