| Fulmar prion | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Procellariiformes |
| Family: | Procellariidae |
| Genus: | Pachyptila |
| Species: | P. crassirostris |
| Binomial name | |
| Pachyptila crassirostris (Mathews, 1912) | |
| Subspecies | |
P. crassirostris crassirostris Contents | |
The fulmar prion (Pachyptila crassirostris) is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae, found in the southern oceans.
Its common name "prion" (not to be confused with the misfolded proteins of the same name) means "saw", referring to the bill; "fulmar" means "foul-gull". The species was once assigned under the now-obsolete genus Fulmariprion [2] [3] (from "fulmar" and "prion").
The genus Pachyptila means "thick feathers". Its specific name crassirostris means "thick-beaked". [4]
The fulmar prion is a member of the genus Pachyptila – and along with the blue petrel – makes up the prions. They in turn are members of the family Procellariidae and the order Procellariiformes. The prions are small and typically eat zooplankton; [5] however, as a member of the Procellariiformes, they share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns, although the nostrils on the prion are on top of the upper bill. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between 7 and 9 horny plates. They produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This is used against predators as well as an energy-rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. [6] Finally, they also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of seawater that they imbibe. They excrete concentrated brine from their nostrils. [7]
The fulmar prion has two subspecies:
Fulmar prions are annual breeders; they lay a single egg in their nest on islands with colonies. Both sexes will incubate the egg, which takes about 45 days, and raise the chick until it fledges at around 46 days. [5]
Like all prions, fulmar prions eat predominantly zooplankton, which they strain through their upper bill. [5]
The fulmar prion is pelagic and stays over the southern oceans. When breeding, they will come ashore and nest on Heard Island, Auckland Islands, Chatham Islands, Bounty Islands, and Snares Island. [8]
Fulmar prions have a very large range. Their population – while lower than most other prions – is still substantial, at between 150,000 and 300,000 adult birds. Because of these numbers, the IUCN rates them as Least Concern. [1] [9]
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The prions are small petrels in the genera Pachyptila and Halobaena. They form one of the four groups within the Procellariidae, along with the gadfly petrels, shearwaters and fulmarine petrels. The name comes from the Greek priōn, meaning "saw", a reference of the serrated edges of the birds' saw-like bill.
Pachyptila is a genus of seabirds in the family Procellariidae and the order Procellariiformes. The members of this genus and the blue petrel form a sub-group called prions. They range throughout the southern hemisphere, often in the much cooler higher latitudes. Three species, the broad-billed prion, the Antarctic prion and the fairy prion, range into the subtropics.
The northern fulmar, fulmar, or Arctic fulmar is a highly abundant seabird found primarily in subarctic regions of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. There has been one confirmed sighting in the Southern Hemisphere, with a single bird seen south of New Zealand. Fulmars come in one of two color morphs: a light one, with white head and body and gray wings and tail, and a dark one, which is uniformly gray. Though similar in appearance to gulls, fulmars are in fact members of the family Procellariidae, which include petrels and shearwaters.
The Chatham albatross, also known as the Chatham mollymawk or Chatham Island mollymawk, is a medium-sized black-and-white albatross which breeds only on The Pyramid, a large rock stack in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the shy albatross Thalassarche cauta. It is the smallest of the shy albatross group.
The mollymawks are a group of medium-sized albatrosses that form the genus Thalassarche. The name has sometimes been used for the genus Phoebetria as well, but these are usually called sooty albatrosses. They are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, where they are the most common of the albatrosses. They were long considered to be in the same genus as the great albatrosses, Diomedea, but a study of their mitochondrial DNA showed that they are a monophyletic taxon related to the sooty albatrosses, and they were placed in their own genus.
Giant petrels form a genus, Macronectes, from the family Procellariidae, which consists of two species. They are the largest birds of this family. Both species are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, and though their distributions overlap significantly, with both species breeding on the Prince Edward Islands, Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands, Macquarie Island, and South Georgia, many southern giant petrels nest farther south, with colonies as far south as Antarctica. Giant petrels are extremely aggressive predators and scavengers, inspiring another common name, the stinker. South Sea whalers used to call them gluttons.
The southern giant petrel, also known as the Antarctic giant petrel, giant fulmar, stinker, and stinkpot, is a large seabird of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly with the similar northern giant petrel, though it overall is centered slightly further south. Adults of the two species can be distinguished by the colour of their bill-tip: greenish in the southern and reddish in the northern.
The sooty albatross, dark-mantled sooty albatross or dark-mantled albatross,, is a species of bird in the albatross family. They breed on sub-Antarctic islands and range at sea across the Southern Ocean from South America to Australia.
The North Pacific albatrosses are large seabirds from the genus Phoebastria in the albatross family. They are the most tropical of the albatrosses, with two species nesting in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, one on sub-tropical islands south of Japan, and one nesting on the equator.
Procellaria is a genus of Southern Ocean long-winged seabirds related to prions, and within the order Procellariiformes. The black petrel ranges in the Pacific Ocean, and as far north as Central America. The spectacled petrel is confined to the Atlantic Ocean, and the Westland petrel to the Pacific Ocean. The white-chinned and grey petrel range throughout the higher latitudes of the Southern Ocean.
The northern royal albatross or toroa, Diomedea sanfordi, is a large seabird in the albatross family. It was split from the closely related southern royal albatross as recently as 1998, though not all scientists support that conclusion and some consider both of them to be subspecies of the royal albatross.
The blue petrel is a small seabird in the shearwater and petrel family, Procellariidae. This small petrel is the only member of the genus Halobaena, but is closely allied to the prions. It is distributed across the Southern Ocean but breeds at a few island sites, all close to the Antarctic Convergence zone.
The fairy prion is a small seabird with the standard prion plumage of blue-grey upperparts with a prominent dark "M" marking and white underneath. The sexes are alike. This is a small prion of the low subantarctic and subtropic seas.
The white-chinned petrel also known as the Cape hen and shoemaker, is a large shearwater in the family Procellariidae. It ranges around the Southern Ocean as far north as southern Australia, Peru and Namibia, and breeds colonially on scattered islands. The white-chinned petrel was formerly considered to be conspecific with the spectacled petrel.
The broad-billed prion is a small pelagic seabird in the shearwater and petrel family, Procellariidae. It is the largest prion, with grey upperparts plumage, and white underparts. The sexes are alike. It ranges from the southeast Atlantic to New Zealand mainly near the Antarctic Convergence. In the south Atlantic it breeds on Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island; in the south Pacific it breeds on islands off the south coast of South Island, New Zealand and on the Chatham Islands. It has many other names that have been used such as blue-billed dove-petrel, broad-billed dove-petrel, long-billed prion, common prion, icebird, and whalebird.
The Antarctic prion also known as the dove prion, or totorore in Māori, is the largest of the prions, a genus of small petrels of the Southern Ocean.
The slender-billed prion or thin-billed prion, is a species of petrel, a seabird in the family Procellariidae. It is found in the southern oceans.
Salvin's prion, also known as the medium-billed prion, is a species of seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae.
The grey petrel, also called the brown petrel, pediunker or grey shearwater is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae, or petrel family. It is pelagic and occurs in the open seas of the Southern Hemisphere, mainly between 32°S and 58°S.