23 fascinating things you never knew about penguins
World Penguin Day is coming up on April 25, and INSIDER has you covered with some fascinating penguin trivia.
From one-foot-tall blue penguins, the world's smallest species, to gentoo penguins, who can reach speeds of 22 miles an hour in the water, these black and white avians are as interesting as they are adorable.
Here are 23 fascinating things you never knew about penguins.
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There are at least 17 species of penguins.
Scientists estimate there are between 17 and 19 species of penguins. You'll find these flightless birds everywhere from Africa to Australia.
Crested penguins, such as the rockhopper and macaroni species — which are characterized by the yellow or orange tufts that extend from their heads — live in the sub-Antarctic region and Antarctic Peninsula. The temperate, less-feathery Magellanic and Humboldt species are native to South America.
But only one lives above the southern hemisphere.
Since the Galápagos Islands straddle the equator, some penguins on the archipelago live further north than any other species in the world.
The smallest type of penguin is only around 10 inches tall.
Growing only to a height of 10 to 12 inches, blue penguins are also known as little penguins. They're native to Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania.
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