 The members of this subfamily are known from fossils found in New Zealand, Antarctica, South America, and possibly Australia, dating from the Middle or Late Eocene to the Late Oligocene; the Australian Middle Miocene genus "Anthropodyptes" is also often assigned to this subfamily, as are the remaining genera of primitive penguins except those from Patagonia.Indeed, it was long assumed that all prehistoric penguins which cannot be assigned to extant genera belonged into the Palaeeudyptinae; this view is generally considered obsolete today.It is likely that some of the unassigned New Zealand/Antarctican/Australian genera like "Delphinornis", "Marambiornis", and "Mesetaornis" do indeed belong into this subfamily, but it is just as probable that others, such as "Duntroonornis" and "Korora", represent another, smaller and possibly somewhat more advanced lineage.