Snares Penguin - Nomenclature

Nomenclature

Snares Penguins were originally collected in 1874 and named atrata by Frederick Wollaston Hutton. However, Hutton lost his sample at sea before a full speciation could be identified. A description written by Hutton and an illustration done by Keulemans in Buller’s “A History of the Birds of New Zealand” are evidence that this is the same penguin previously identified by Hutton. However, there is some debate over the classification of this penguin, and Oliver was able to successfully propose that a few slight anatomical differences did exist between the Snares Penguins and the early description and illustration, leading the Snares Penguin to be called robustus instead of atratus.