The taxonomy of the Procellariidae, or procellariids, is complex and still a matter of some debate. The traditional taxonomy breaks the procellariids into four main groups, the fulmarine petrels, the prions, the gadfly petrels and the shearwaters. Recent studies have called this arrangement into question.
Additional recommended knowledge
Traditional taxonomy
This traditional taxonomy is based upon Carboneras (1992) in the Handbook of the Birds of the World.
Fulmarine petrels
- Macronectes
- Fulmarus
- Thalassoica
- Daption
- Pagodroma
Gadfly petrels
Prions
Shearwaters
- Procellaria
- Calonectris
- Puffinus
Revised taxonomy
Based on Austin (1996), Bretagnolle et al. (1998), Nunn & Stanley (1998) and Brooke (2004), several changes have been made from the more traditional taxonomy. The two species in the genus Bulweria are no longer considered close to the rest of the gadfly petrels; several more gadfly petrels are removed from Pterodroma and placed in Pseudobulweria (allied to the shearwaters), and the Kerguelen Petrel is also removed from Pterodroma and placed in the monotypic Lugensa. Several taxa are also elevated to species status on the basis of newer studies.
Fulmarine petrels
- Macronectes
- Northern Giant Petrel, M. halli
- Southern Giant Petrel, M. giganteus
- Fulmarus
- Northern Fulmar, F. glacialis
- Southern Fulmar, F. glacialoides
- Thalassoica
- Antarctic Petrel, T. antarctica
- Daption
- Pagodroma
Prions
- Halobaena
- Pachyptila
- Fairy Prion, P. turtur
- Slender-billed Prion, P. belcheri
- Fulmar Prion, P. crassirostris
- Broad-billed Prion, P. vittata
- Antarctic Prion, P. desolata
- Salvin's Prion, P. salvin
Procellarine petrels
- Procellaria
- White-chinned Petrel, P. aequinoctialis
- Spectacled Petrel, P. conspicillata
- Westland Petrel, P. westlandica
- Black Petrel, P. parkinsoni
- Grey Petrel, P, cinerea
- Bulweria
- Bulwer's Petrel, B. bulwerii
- Jouanin's Petrel, B. fallax
- St Helena Bulwer's Petrel, B. bifax (extinct)
Shearwaters
- Calonectris
- Cory's Shearwater, C. (diomedea) borealis
- Scopoli's Shearwater, C. (diomedea) diomedea
- Cape Verde Shearwater, C. edwardsii
- Streaked Shearwater, C. leucomelas
- Puffinus
- (Sub)Genus Puffinus ("Puffinus" group) - smaller species, closely related to Calonectris
- Christmas Shearwater, P. nativatis
- Galápagos Shearwater, P. subalaris
- Fluttering Shearwater, P. gavia
- Hutton's Shearwater, P. huttoni
- Yelkouan Shearwater, P. yelkouan
- Balearic Shearwater, P. mauretanicus
- Little Shearwater, P. assimilis
- Heinroth's Shearwater, P. heinrothi
- Audubon's Shearwater, P. lherminieri
- North Atlantic Little Shearwater, P. (lherminieri) baroli
- Persian Shearwater, P. (lherminieri) persicus
- Tropical Shearwater or Baillon's Shearwater, P. (lherminieri) bailloni
- Bannerman's Shearwater, P. (lherminieri) bannermani
- Manx Shearwater, P. puffinus
- Black-vented Shearwater, P. opisthomelas
- Townsend's Shearwater, P. auricularis
- Hawaiian Shearwater, P. newelli
- Bermuda Shearwater, P. parvus (extinct)
- (Sub)Genus Ardenna ("Neonectris" group) - larger species, a distinct lineage
- Pink-footed shearwater, P. creatopus
- Flesh-footed Shearwater, P. carneipes
- Great Shearwater, P. gravis
- Sooty Shearwater, P. griseus
- Short-tailed Shearwater or Mutton bird, P. tenuirostris
- Wedge-tailed Shearwater, P. pacificus
- Buller's Shearwater, P. bulleri
- Pseudobulweria
- Fiji Petrel P. macgillivrayi
- Tahiti Petrel, P. rostrata
- Beck's Petrel, P. becki
- Mascarene Petrel, P. aterrima
- St Helena Petrel, P. rupinarum (extinct)
- Lugensa
- Kerguelen Petrel, Lugensa brevirostris
Gadfly petrels
- Pterodroma
- Barau's Petrel, P. baraui
- Trinidade Petrel, P. arminjoniana
- Herald Petrel, P. (arminjoniana) heraldica
- Juan Fernandez Petrel, P. externa
- Kermadec Petrel, P. neglecta
- Galapagos Petrel, P. phaeopygia
- Hawaiian Petrel, P. sandwichensis
- Henderson Petrel, P. atrata
- Phoenix Petrel, P. alba
- Fea's Petrel, P. feae
- Zino's Petrel or Madeira Petrel, P. madeira
- Soft-plumaged Petrel, P. mollis
- Bermuda Petrel, P. cahow
- Black-capped Petrel, P. hasitata
- Jamaica Petrel, P. caribbaea (probably extinct)
- Atlantic Petrel, P. incerta
- White-headed Petrel, P. lessonii
- Magenta Petrel, P. magentae
- Great-winged Petrel, P. macroptera
- Providence Petrel, P. solandri
- Murphy's Petrel, P. ultima
- Mottled Petrel, P. inexpectata
- Pycroft's Petrel, P. pycrofti
- Stejneger's Petrel, P. longirostris
- Collared Petrel, P. brevipes
- Gould's Petrel, P. leucoptera
- Mangareva Petrel, P. cf. leucoptera (possibly extinct)
- Cook's Petrel, P. cookii
- Mas a Tierra Petrel, P. defilippiana
- Bonin Petrel, P. hypoleuca
- White-necked Petrel, P. cervicalis
- Falla's Petrel, P. occulta
- Black-winged Petrel, P. nigripennis
- Chatham Petrel, P. axillaris
An undescribed prehistorically extinct species was found on Easter Island. For other non-Recent extinctions, see the genus accounts.
References
- Austin, Jeremy J. (1996): Molecular Phylogenetics of Puffinus Shearwaters: Preliminary Evidence from Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene Sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 6(1): 77–88 doi:10.1006/mpev.1996.0060 (HTML abstract)
- Bretagnolle, V., Attié, C., Pasquet, E., (1998): Cytochrome-b evidence for validity and phylogenetic relationships of Pseudobulweria and Bulweria (Procellariidae). Auk 115(1):188-195 PDf fulltext
- Brooke, M. (2004): Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. ISBN 0-19-850125-0
- Carboneras, C. (1992): Family Procellariidae (Petrels and Shearwaters). In: Handbook of Birds of the World 1. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN 84-87334-10-5
- Imber, M.J. (1985): Origins, phylogeny and taxonomy of the gadfly petrels Pterodroma spp.. Ibis 127: 197-229.
- Nunn, Gary B. & Stanley, Scott E. (1998): Body Size Effects and Rates of Cytochrome b Evolution in Tube-Nosed Seabirds. Molecular Biology and Evolution 15: 1360-1371. PDF fulltext Corrigendum
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