# Puffinus

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Genus of birds

Puffinus Fluttering shearwater, Puffinus gavia Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Procellariiformes Family: Procellariidae Genus: Puffinus Brisson, 1760 Type species Procellaria puffinus (Manx shearwater) Brünnich, 1764 Species See text Synonyms Thyellodroma Stejneger, 1888 Hemipuffinus Iredale, 1913 Neonectris Mathews, 1913

***Puffinus*** is a [genus](/source/Genus) of [seabirds](/source/Seabird) in the order Procellariiformes that contains about 20 small to medium-sized [shearwaters](/source/Shearwater). Two other shearwater genera are named: *[Calonectris](/source/Calonectris)*, which comprises three or four large shearwaters, and *[Ardenna](/source/Ardenna)* with another seven species (formerly often included within *Puffinus*).

The taxonomy of this group is the cause of much debate, and the number of recognised species varies with the source.

The species in this group are long-winged birds, dark brown or black above, and white to dark brown below. They are pelagic outside the breeding season. They are most common in temperate and cold waters.

These [tubenose](/source/Procellariiformes) [birds](/source/Bird) fly with stiff wings, and use a shearing flight technique to move across wave fronts with the minimum of active flight. Some small species, such as the [Manx shearwater](/source/Manx_shearwater), are cruciform in flight, with their long wings held directly out from their bodies.

Many are long-distance [migrants](/source/Bird_migration), perhaps most spectacularly the [sooty](/source/Sooty_shearwater) and [short-tailed shearwaters](/source/Short-tailed_shearwater), which perform migrations of 14,000 km or more each year.

*Puffinus* shearwaters come to islands and coastal cliffs only to breed. They are nocturnal at the colonial breeding sites, preferring moonless nights to minimise predation. They nest in [burrows](/source/Burrow_nest) and often give eerie contact calls on their night-time visits. They lay a single white [egg](/source/Bird_egg).

They feed on [fish](/source/Fish), [squid](/source/Squid) and similar oceanic food. Some will follow fishing boats to take scraps, notably the sooty shearwater; these species also commonly follow [whales](/source/Whale) to feed on fish disturbed by them.

## Taxonomy

The [genus](/source/Genus) *Puffinus* was introduced by the French zoologist [Mathurin Jacques Brisson](/source/Mathurin_Jacques_Brisson) in 1760 with the [Manx shearwater](/source/Manx_shearwater) (*Puffinus puffinus*) as the [type species](/source/Type_species).[1][2]

Traditionally, *Puffinus* has been grouped with the *Procellaria* and *Calonectris* shearwaters. However, more recent results[3][4][5] have determined that the genus is apparently [paraphyletic](/source/Paraphyletic) and while in part very close to *Calonectris*, forms a [clade](/source/Clade) with the genera *[Pseudobulweria](/source/Pseudobulweria)* and *[Lugensa](/source/Lugensa)*, which were formerly presumed to be [gadfly petrels](/source/Gadfly_petrel), and can be divided in what has been called the "Puffinus" and the "Neonectris" group after notable species; the latter has been separated as a distinct genus named *[Ardenna](/source/Ardenna)*.[6][7] The former is taxonomically confusing, with species having been [split and remerged](/source/Lumpers_and_splitters) in the last years.[4][5]

*Puffinus* is a [Neo-Latin](/source/Neo-Latin) [loanword](/source/Loanword) based on the English "puffin". The original [Latin](/source/Latin) term for shearwaters was usually the catchall name for sea-birds, *[mergus](/source/Mergus)*.[8] "Puffin" and its variants, such as poffin, pophyn and puffing,[9] referred to the cured carcass of the fat nestling of the shearwater, a former delicacy.[10] The original usage dates from at least 1337, but from as early as 1678 the term gradually came to be used for another, unrelated, seabird, the [Atlantic puffin](/source/Atlantic_puffin), an [auk](/source/Auk).[9] The current English name was first recorded in 1835 and refers to the former nesting of this species on the [Isle of Man](/source/Isle_of_Man).[11]

### Extant species

The genus *Puffinus* contains the following 21 species:[12]

Image Scientific name Common name Distribution Puffinus nativitatis Christmas shearwater tropical Central Pacific. Puffinus puffinus Manx shearwater north Atlantic Ocean in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, France, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, the Azores, Canary Islands, and Madeira Puffinus yelkouan Yelkouan shearwater eastern and central Mediterranean. Puffinus mauretanicus Balearic shearwater Morocco and Algeria Puffinus bryani Bryan's shearwater Hawaiian Islands Puffinus opisthomelas Black-vented shearwater Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California Puffinus auricularis Townsend's shearwater Cerro Evermann on Isla Socorro in the Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico, though formerly present on Clarion Island and San Benedicto. Puffinus newelli Newell's shearwater Hawaiian Islands Puffinus myrtae Rapa shearwater islets of Rapa in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia Puffinus gavia Fluttering shearwater New Zealand and migrates to Australia and the Solomon Islands. Puffinus huttoni Hutton's shearwater New Zealand Puffinus lherminieri Sargasso shearwater The Caribbean and parts of the western Atlantic. Puffinus persicus Persian shearwater southern Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Somali coast across the south of the Arabian Peninsula to the Gulf of Oman, Pakistan and western India Puffinus bailloni Tropical shearwater or Baillon's shearwater eastern Indo-Pacific; western Indian Ocean Puffinus subalaris Galápagos shearwater Galápagos Islands Puffinus bannermani Bannerman's shearwater Volcano Islands in the Ogasawara Group to the southwest of Japan Puffinus heinrothi Heinroth's shearwater the Bismarck Archipelago and northern Solomon Islands Puffinus assimilis Little shearwater Australia & New Zealand Puffinus elegans Subantarctic shearwater Tristan da Cunha, islands of the southern Indian Ocean and New Zealand Subantarctic Islands Puffinus baroli Barolo shearwater Azores and Canaries Puffinus boydi Boyd's shearwater Cape Verde

### Phylogeny

Phylogeny of the genus based on a study by Joan Ferrer Obiol and collaborators published in 2022. Only 14 of the 21 recognised species were included.[13]

Puffinus Christmas shearwater, Puffinus nativitatis Fluttering shearwater, Puffinus gavia Hutton's shearwater, Puffinus huttoni Sargasso shearwater, Puffinus lhermineri Barolo shearwater, Puffinus baroli Boyd's shearwater, Puffinus boydi Manx shearwater, Puffinus puffinus Balearic shearwater, Puffinus mauretanicus Yelkouan shearwater, Puffinus yelkouan Little shearwater, Puffinus assimilis Subantarctic shearwater, Puffinus elegans Tropical shearwater, Puffinus bailloni Black-vented shearwater, Puffinus opisthomels Newell's shearwater, Puffinus newelli

### Fossil record

Comparison between *P. olsoni* and *P. puffinus*

Several [fossil](/source/Fossil) species which became extinct long ago are also known. The proportion of larger ("Neonectris") species apparently was larger before the [Pliocene](/source/Pliocene), i.e. before [marine mammals](/source/Marine_mammals) diversified:

- "Puffinus" group - Menorcan shearwater, *Puffinus* sp. ([prehistoric](/source/Late_Quaternary_prehistoric_birds)) – possibly extirpated population of extant species; tentatively placed in this group - [Dune shearwater](/source/Dune_shearwater) or Hole's shearwater, *Puffinus holeae* ([prehistoric](/source/Late_Quaternary_prehistoric_birds)) - [Lava shearwater](/source/Lava_shearwater) or Olson's shearwater, *Puffinus olsoni* ([prehistoric](/source/Late_Quaternary_prehistoric_birds)) – tentatively placed in this group - [Bermuda shearwater](/source/Bermuda_shearwater), *Puffinus parvus* ([extinct](/source/Extinct)) – tentatively placed in this group; possibly synonymous with *[P. lherminieri](/source/Audubon's_shearwater)*[14] - [Scarlett's shearwater](/source/Scarlett's_shearwater), *Puffinus spelaeus* ([prehistoric](/source/Late_Quaternary_prehistoric_birds)) - *Puffinus tedfordi* (Pleistocene of western North America) - *[Puffinus nestori](/source/Puffinus_nestori)* (Late Pliocene/Early Pleistocene of Ibiza)

- "Neonectris" group - *Puffinus* sp. 1 (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, US) - *Puffinus* sp. 2 (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, US)

- Unassigned:[15] - *?Puffinus raemdonckii* (Early Oligocene of Belgium) – formerly in *[Larus](/source/Larus)* - *Puffinus micraulax* (Early Miocene of C Florida, US) – probably "Puffinus" group - *Puffinus* sp. (Early Miocene of Calvert County, US)[16] - *Puffinus* sp. (Early Pliocene of South Africa)[17] - *Puffinus felthami* (Pleistocene of W North America) - *Puffinus kanakoffi* (Pleistocene of W North America) - *"Puffinus" aquitanicus* - *Puffinus antiquus* - *Puffinus barnesi* - *Puffinus calhouni* - *Puffinus diatomicus* - *Puffinus inceptor* - *Puffinus mitchelli* - *Puffinus priscus*

*"Puffinus" arvernensis* (Early Miocene of France) is now considered a primitive [albatross](/source/Albatross) of the fossil genus *[Plotornis](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plotornis&action=edit&redlink=1)*. Some other species like *P. conradi* and *P. pacificoides* have been reclassified as those of *[Ardenna](/source/Ardenna)*.[18]

## See also

- [List of extinct birds](/source/List_of_extinct_birds)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Brisson, Mathurin Jacques](/source/Mathurin_Jacques_Brisson) (1760). *Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés* (in French and Latin). Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. [Vol. 1, p. 56](https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36010456), [Vol. 6, pp. 129-130](https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36210979).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Mayr, Ernst](/source/Ernst_Mayr); Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). [*Check-list of Birds of the World*](https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16108729). Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 89.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Austin1996_3-0)** 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. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[1996MolPE...6...77A](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1996MolPE...6...77A). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1006/mpev.1996.0060](https://doi.org/10.1006%2Fmpev.1996.0060). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [8812308](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8812308).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Heidrich_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Heidrich_4-1) Heidrich, Petra; Amengual, José F. & Wink, Michael (1998). ["Phylogenetic relationships in Mediterranean and North Atlantic shearwaters (Aves: Procellariidae) based on nucleotide sequences of mtDNA"](http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/institute/fak14/ipmb/phazb/pubwink/1998/8.%201998.pdf) (PDF). *Biochemical Systematics and Ecology*. **26** (2): 145–170. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[1998BioSE..26..145H](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1998BioSE..26..145H). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/S0305-1978(97)00085-9](https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS0305-1978%2897%2900085-9).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Austin2004_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Austin2004_5-1) Austin, Jeremy J.; Bretagnolle, Vincent & Pasquet, Eric (2004). "A global molecular phylogeny of the small *Puffinus* shearwaters and implications for systematics of the Little-Audubon's Shearwater complex". *[Auk](/source/Auk_(journal))*. **121** (3): 847–864. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121\[0847:AGMPOT\]2.0.CO;2](https://doi.org/10.1642%2F0004-8038%282004%29121%5B0847%3AAGMPOT%5D2.0.CO%3B2). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [86177092](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:86177092).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Penhallurick_6-0)** Penhallurick, John & Wink, Michael (2004). "Analysis of the taxonomy and nomenclature of the Procellariformes based on complete nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome *b* gene". *[Emu](/source/Emu_(journal))*. **104** (2): 125–147. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2004EmuAO.104..125P](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004EmuAO.104..125P). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1071/MU01060](https://doi.org/10.1071%2FMU01060). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [83202756](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:83202756).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Remsen, J.V. (September 2014). ["Proposal (647) to South American Classification Committee: Split *Ardenna* from *Puffinus*"](http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop647.htm). South American Classification Committee. Retrieved 23 January 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Thompson_8-0)** Thompson, D'Arcy Wentworth (1918). ["The Birds of Diomede"](https://zenodo.org/record/1557450). *Classical Review*. **32** (5/6): 92–96. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/S0009840X00011549](https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0009840X00011549). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [699721](https://www.jstor.org/stable/699721). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [164153825](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:164153825).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-oedpuffin_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-oedpuffin_9-1) ["Puffin"](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/154193?rskey=GJrKv4&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid). *Oxford English Dictionary*. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 14 December 2014.(subscription required)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-job90_10-0)** Jobling, James A (2010). [*The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names*](https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling). London: Christopher Helm. p. 323. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4081-2501-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4081-2501-4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-oedmanx_11-0)** ["Manx"](http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/113817?redirectedFrom=manx#eid). *Oxford English Dictionary*. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 14 December 2014.(subscription required)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ioc_12-0)** [Gill, Frank](/source/Frank_Gill_(ornithologist)); Donsker, David; [Rasmussen, Pamela](/source/Pamela_Rasmussen), eds. (July 2021). ["Petrels, albatrosses"](https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/petrels/). *IOC World Bird List Version 11.2*. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Ferrer Obiol, J.; James, H.F.; Chesser, R.T.; Bretagnolle, V.; González-Solís, J.; Rozas, J.; Welch, A.J.; Riutort, M. (2022). ["Palaeoceanographic changes in the late Pliocene promoted rapid diversification in pelagic seabirds"](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fjbi.14291). *Journal of Biogeography*. **49** (1): 171–188. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2022JBiog..49..171F](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022JBiog..49..171F). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/jbi.14291](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fjbi.14291). [hdl](/source/Hdl_(identifier)):[2445/193747](https://hdl.handle.net/2445%2F193747).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Sangster, G.; Robb, M.S.; Mackin, W.A.; Bolton, M. (2024). "Vocalizations and species limits in the North Atlantic clade of small shearwaters (Procellariiformes: *Puffinus*)". *Biological Journal of the Linnean Society*. **143** (3). blae008. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/biolinnean/blae008](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fbiolinnean%2Fblae008).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Tennyson, A. J. D.; Salvador, R. B.; Tomotani, B. M.; Marx, F. G. (2024). ["A New Diving Pliocene *Ardenna* Shearwater (Aves: Procellariidae) from New Zealand"](https://doi.org/10.3390%2Ftaxonomy4020012). *Taxonomy*. **4** (2): 237–249. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.3390/taxonomy4020012](https://doi.org/10.3390%2Ftaxonomy4020012). [hdl](/source/Hdl_(identifier)):[10037/33366](https://hdl.handle.net/10037%2F33366).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Wetmore_16-0)** Wetmore, Alexander (1926). ["Observations on fossil birds described from the Miocene of Maryland"](http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v043n04/p0462-p0468.pdf) (PDF). *[Auk](/source/Auk_(journal))*. **43** (4): 462–468. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/4075132](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F4075132). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [4075132](https://www.jstor.org/stable/4075132).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Olson_17-0)** Olson, Storrs L. (1985): Section X, H, 2. Procellariidae. *In:* Farner, D.S.; King, J.R. & Parkes, Kenneth C. (eds.): *Avian Biology* 8: 210–211. Academic Press, New York.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Tennyson, Alan J.D.; Mannering, Al A. (January 2018). ["A new species of Pliocene shearwater (Aves: Procellariidae) from New Zealand"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338491087). *Tuhinga*. **29**: 1–19.

## Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Puffinus](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Puffinus).

[Wikispecies](/source/Wikispecies) has information related to ***[Puffinus](https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Search/Puffinus)***.

- Brooke, M. (2004): *Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World*. [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press), Oxford, UK. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-19-850125-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-19-850125-0)

v t e Genera of penguins, petrels, and albatrosses and their extinct allies Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Infraclass: Neognathae Clade: Austrodyptornithes Sphenisciformes Basal taxa and incertae sedis †Archaeodyptes †Arthrodytes †Aprosdokitos †Daniadyptes †Kaiika †Kumimanu †Kupoupou †Muriwaimanu †Nucleornis †Orthopteryx †Pakudyptes †Petradyptes †Sequiwaimanu †Tonniornis †Waimanu †Waimanutaha †Waiparadyptes †Wimanornis Spheniscidae †Crossvallia †Dege †Duntroonornis †Korora †Icadyptes †Inguza †Inkayacu †Kairuku †Marambiornopsis †Marplesornis †Palaeoapterodytes †Perudyptes †Pseudaptenodytes †Tasidyptes †Tereingaornis †Palaeospheniscinae Eretiscus Palaeospheniscus †Paraptenodytinae Arthrodytes Paraptenodytes †"Palaeeudyptinae" Anthropodyptes Anthropornis Archaeospheniscus Delphinornis Marambiornis Mesetaornis Pachydyptes Palaeeudyptes Platydyptes Spheniscinae Aptenodytes Eudyptes Eudyptula †Madrynornis Megadyptes Pygoscelis Spheniscus Procellariiformes incertae sedis †Kievornis †Lonchodytes? †Makahala †Diomedeoididae Diomedeoides Rupelornis †Marinavidae Marinavis †Tytthostonychidae Tytthostonyx Diomedeidae †Aldiomedes †Diomedavus Diomedea †Murunkus †Notoleptos Phoebastria Phoebetria †Plotornis Thalassarche †Tydea Oceanitidae Fregetta Garrodia Nesofregetta Oceanites Pelagodroma Hydrobatidae Hydrobates Procellariidae Aphrodroma Ardenna †Argyrodyptes Bulweria Calonectris Daption †Eopuffinus Fulmarus Halobaena Macronectes Pachyptila Pagodroma Pelecanoides †Primodroma Procellaria Pseudobulweria Pterodroma †Pterodromoides Puffinus Thalassoica

Taxon identifiers Puffinus Wikidata: Q858279 Wikispecies: Puffinus AFD: Puffinus Avibase: 8E03D9095ACE37D7 BOLD: 4838 CoL: 75BM EPPO: 1PUFFG EURING: 499 Fauna Europaea (new): 8f0dc029-070b-4d4a-b0a9-d9eff4149666 GBIF: 5229335 iNaturalist: 4092 ITIS: 174543 NBN: NBNSYS0000188653 NCBI: 30453 NZOR: 5534af21-fa2a-4fd9-8a2c-752dc7e0b4a1 Open Tree of Life: 1028843 Paleobiology Database: 39702 WoRMS: 137065

Authority control databases National Israel Other Yale LUX

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