According to the researchers, the different species developed over the past 300,000 to 500,000 years.
Gentoos differ from other penguin species mainly due to their wide-ranging diet, and will eat almost anything they can catch in the water.
This makes it easier for them to survive than penguins like emperors and Adelies, with more specific diets, who can struggle to find food.
Scientists argue that this is why gentoos evolved differently.
Because they don’t travel far from their breeding colony, and nest in the same place year after year, different populations developed who adapted to their specific regions.