Ardenna
Genus of birds
Ardenna is a genus of seabirds in the family Procellariidae. These medium-sized to large shearwater species were formerly included in the genus Puffinus.
01Taxonomy
A phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial DNA published in 2004 found that Puffinus contained two distinct clades and was polyphyletic, with Puffinus more closely related to Calonectris than to Ardenna. To create monophyletic genera a group of species were moved into Ardenna, a genus that had been introduced in 1853 by Ludwig Reichenbach with the great shearwater as the type species. Reichenbach cites the Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi who in 1603 used the spelling "Artenna" for a seabird. Recent genomic studies have validated the phylogenetic distinction between Ardenna and Puffinus, though this study finding Ardenna rather than Puffinus being closer to Calonectris.
Species
Extant
The genus contains seven extant species as shown below:
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. pacifica | Wedge-tailed shearwater | Breeds on islands in warm temperate and tropical areas of the Indian and Pacific Oceans between 30°N and 30°S, foraging in surrounding waters. | |
| A. bulleri | Buller's shearwater | Breeds New Zealand, foraging across most of the Pacific Ocean north to 60°N. | |
| A. grisea | Sooty shearwater | Breeds Tierra del Fuego, Falkland Islands, southeast Australia, New Zealand, foraging widespread in Atlantic and Pacific Oceans north to 65°N (rarely 70°N). | |
| A. tenuirostris | Short-tailed shearwater | Breeds southern Australia, foraging across most of the western and central Pacific Ocean and marginally into the Arctic Ocean, north to 70°N. | |
| A. creatopus | Pink-footed shearwater | Breeds Juan Fernandez and Mocha Islands off Chile, foraging in the eastern Pacific Ocean north to 60°N. | |
| A. carneipes | Flesh-footed shearwater | Breeds southern Indian Ocean (Amsterdam Island) and southwest Pacific Ocean including Lord Howe Island, South Australia and northern New Zealand, foraging across most of the western and central Pacific Ocean north to 60°N. | |
| A. gravis | Great shearwater | Breeds southern Atlantic Ocean on Tristan da Cunha group, also small numbers on the Falkland Islands, foraging across most of the Atlantic Ocean north to 65°N. |
Extinct
The genus contains five extinct species as shown below:
| Scientific name | Stratigraphic age | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| A. buchananbrowni | Late Pliocene | New Zealand |
| A. conradi | Middle Miocene | Maryland, USA |
| A. davealleni | Late Pliocene | New Zealand |
| A. gilmorei | Late Pliocene | California, USA |
| A. pacificoides | Pleistocene | Saint Helena |
Phylogeny
Phylogeny based on a study by Joan Ferrer Obiol and collaborators published in 2022.
| Ardenna |
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Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Ardenna”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Great Shearwater RWD3d.jpg by DickDaniels (https://carolinabirds.org/), CC BY-SA 3.0
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