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Scientists Just Realized We’ve Been Wrong About Penguins for Decades

It’s not all good news.

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Penguins cannot self-replicate, but thanks to researchers developing a clearer understanding of penguin genetics, scientists now believe they’ve split one gentoo penguin species into four separate species living around Antarctica, along with one totally new type of penguin.

According to a new study published in the journal Current Biology, researchers argue that scientists have been miscounting gentoo penguins for decades. What was once considered a single species spread across Antarctica and surrounding islands may actually be four genetically distinct species that have been influenced by a variety of factors like geography, isolation, and adaptation to the Earth’s changing climate.

The vast majority of humans on Earth may not have been aware that, for some time, gentoo penguin taxonomy has been........

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