---
title: "African Penguin"
description: "Spheniscus demersus — Birds. The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), also known as the Cape penguin or the South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/african-penguin
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# African Penguin

> Spheniscus demersus — Birds. The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), also known as the Cape penguin or the South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters.

- Scientific name: *Spheniscus demersus*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 6527
- Wikidata: [Q244813](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q244813)
- iNaturalist taxon: [3813](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/3813)

## Names

- en: African Penguin
- de: Brillenpinguin
- es: Pingüino de El Cabo
- fr: Manchot du Cap
- nl: Zwartvoetpinguïn
- pt: Pinguim africano
- pl: Pingwin przylądkowy

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (4803), NA (101)

## Summary

The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), also known as the Cape penguin or the South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. It is the only penguin found in the Old World. Like all penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat. Adults weigh an average of 2.2–3.5 kg (4.9–7.7 lb) and are 60–70 cm (24–28 in) tall. The species has distinctive pink patches of skin above the eyes and a black facial mask. The body's upper parts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts, which are spotted and…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_penguin

## Photo

![African Penguin](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/african-penguin/medium.jpg)

Photo: o2k · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/67126474

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/african-penguin?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).