@UngulateNerd92 - no subspecies are recognised in New Zealand. There is no genetic difference between populations apart for that between the Australian and New Zealand species, and the supposed physical differences between populations are minor and clinal (apart for the visually-distinctive White-flippered Penguin, which however is genetically indistinguishable from other Little Blue Penguins).
@Chlidonias ah thank you for letting me know. So what is the likelihood of the Tasmanian and New Zealand little blue penguins being split as separate/distinct species in the future, as opposed to subspecies.
Australian and NZ have already been split, several years ago. E. novaehollandiae is in Australia and Otago (NZ), and E. minor is in NZ (apart for in Otago). It obviously isn't followed by all authorities - e.g. BoW still has them as one species with six subspecies, in defiance of all the genetic evidence - but the divergence between the two lineages is deep.
