North Pacific albatross

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North Pacific albatross
Waved Albatross (Phoebastria irrorata) -3 on Espanola.jpg
Waved albatrosses on Española Island, Galapagos
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Diomedeidae
Genus: Phoebastria
Reichenbach, 1853
Species

Phoebastria immutabilis
Phoebastria nigripes
Phoebastria irrorata
Phoebastria albatrus
Phoebastria californica
Phoebastria anglica
Phoebastria rexsularum
Phoebastria cf. albatrus
Phoebastria cf. immutabilis
Phoebastria cf. nigripes

Contents

Synonyms

Diomedea(sensu Coues, 1866)
Julietata Mathews & Hallstrom, 1943

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 (the Laysan and black-footed albatrosses) nesting in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, one on sub-tropical islands south of Japan (the short-tailed albatross), and one nesting on the equator (the waved albatross).

Taxonomy

Their taxonomy is very confusing, as with all albatrosses. It is widely accepted now, based on molecular evidence and the fossil record, that they are a distinct genus from Diomedea in which formerly most "white" albatrosses were placed but which is now restricted to the "great" albatrosses. [1] They share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. Although the nostrils on the albatross are on the sides of the bill. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between seven and nine horny plates. Finally, 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. [2] They also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and that helps desalinate their bodies, to compensate for the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe. It excretes a high saline solution from their nose. [3]

Species

Genus Phoebastria – North Pacific albatrosses

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Laysan Albatross RWD8a.jpg Phoebastria immutabilis Laysan albatross Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, particularly the islands of Midway and Laysan
Black-footed Albatross - Flickr - GregTheBusker (1).jpg Phoebastria nigripes black-footed albatross Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, from Kure Atoll to Kaula Island
Phoebastria irrorata -Espanola Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador -flying-8.jpg Phoebastria irrorata waved albatross Ecuador and Peru
Short tailed Albatross1.jpg Phoebastria albatrus short-tailed albatross North Pacific

This genus and Diomedea had already diverged in the Middle Miocene (12–15 mya). Several fossil forms are known, which incidentally prove that Phoebastria was formerly distributed in the North Atlantic also. The current distribution is thus a relict. The oldest known species, P. californica, was at least the size of the short-tailed albatross and may have been an ancestor of that bird.

Fossil species

Waved albatross pair Waved Albatross (Phoebastria irrorata) -pair.jpg
Waved albatross pair

Description

The North Pacific albatross ranges in size from 190 to 240 cm (75–94 in) and they all have short black tails. [4]

Behavior

The feeding habits of these albatrosses are similar to other albatrosses in that they eat fish, squid, crustacea, and carrion. [4]

Observations made during June 2010 from the Hokkaido University research vessel the Oshoro Maru in the western North Pacific showed an apparent symbiotic relationship between a school of 57 ocean sunfish (Mola mola) and Laysan and black-footed albatrosses. The sunfish were infected with the mesoparasitic copepods from the genus Pennella and the albatrosses were seen to remove these parasites from the sunfish which appeared to be actively attempting to attract the albatrosses. [5]

When roosting, they choose isolated sites and lay one egg, with both parents incubating and raising the chick. They are monogamous species, and they don't start breeding until they are 5–15 years old. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Pachyptila</i> Genus of birds

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.

Waved albatross Species of bird

The waved albatross, also known as Galapagos albatross, is the only member of the family Diomedeidae located in the tropics. When they forage, they follow a straight path to a single site off the coast of Peru, about 1,000 km (620 mi) to the east. During the non-breeding season, these birds reside primarily on the Ecuadorian and Peruvian coasts.

Chatham albatross Species of bird

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.

Black-footed albatross Species of bird

The black-footed albatross is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae from the North Pacific. All but 2.5% of the population is found among the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is one of three species of albatross that range in the northern hemisphere, nesting on isolated tropical islands. Unlike many albatrosses, it is dark plumaged.

Laysan albatross Species of bird

The Laysan albatross is a large seabird that ranges across the North Pacific. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are home to 99.7% of the population. This small gull-like albatross is the second-most common seabird in the Hawaiian Islands, with an estimated population of 1.18 million birds, and is currently expanding its range to new islands. The Laysan albatross was first described as Diomedea immutabilis by Lionel Walter Rothschild, in 1893, on the basis of a specimen from Laysan Island.

Mollymawk Genus of birds

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.

Short-tailed albatross Species of bird

The short-tailed albatross or Steller's albatross is a large rare seabird from the North Pacific. Although related to the other North Pacific albatrosses, it also exhibits behavioural and morphological links to the albatrosses of the Southern Ocean. It was described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas from skins collected by Georg Wilhelm Steller. Once common, it was brought to the edge of extinction by the trade in feathers, but with protection efforts underway since the 1950s, the species is in the process of recovering with an increasing population trend. Its breeding range, however, remains small.

<i>Procellaria</i> Genus of birds

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.

Light-mantled albatross Species of bird

The light-mantled albatross also known as the grey-mantled albatross or the light-mantled sooty albatross, is a small albatross in the genus Phoebetria, which it shares with the sooty albatross. The light-mantled albatross was first described as Phoebetria palpebrata by Johann Reinhold Forster, in 1785, based on a specimen from south of the Cape of Good Hope.

Campbell albatross Species of bird

The Campbell albatross or Campbell mollymawk, is a medium-sized mollymawk in the albatross family. It breeds only on Campbell Island and the associated islet of Jeanette Marie, in a small New Zealand island group in the South Pacific. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the black-browed albatross. It is a medium-sized black and white albatross with a pale yellow iris.

Antipodean albatross Species of bird

The Antipodean albatross is a large seabird in the albatross family. Antipodean albatrosses are smaller than wandering albatrosses, and breed in predominantly brown plumage, but are otherwise difficult to distinguish from young wanderers.

Northern royal albatross Species of bird

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.

Tristan albatross Large seabird from the family Diomedeidae

The Tristan albatross is a large seabird from the albatross family. One of the great albatrosses of the genus Diomedea, it was only widely recognised as a full species in 1998.

Fairy prion Species of bird

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.

Broad-billed prion Species of bird

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.

Antarctic prion Species of bird

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.

Slender-billed prion Species of bird

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.

Fulmar prion Species of bird

The fulmar prion is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae, found in the southern oceans.

Salvins prion Species of bird

Salvin's prion, also known as the medium-billed prion, is a species of seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae.

Nothurinae Subfamily of birds

Nothurinae or aridland tinamous is one of two subfamilies of the Tinamidae family, the other being Tinaminae. It contains eighteen species in six genera. The six genera are:

References

  1. Nunn, Gary B.; Cooper, John; Jouventin, Pierre; Robertson, Chris J. R. & Robertson Graham G. (1996). "Evolutionary relationships among extant albatrosses (Procellariiformes: Diomedeidae) established from complete cytochrome-b gene sequences" (PDF). Auk . 113 (4): 784–801. doi:10.2307/4088857.
  2. Double, M. C. (2003). "Procellariiformes (Tubenosed Seabirds)". In Hutchins, Michael; Jackson, Jerome A.; Bock, Walter J.; Olendorf, Donna (eds.). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Vol. 8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins. Joseph E. Trumpey, Chief Scientific Illustrator (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. pp. 107–111. ISBN   0-7876-5784-0.
  3. Ehrlich, Paul R.; Dobkin, David, S.; Wheye, Darryl (1988). The Birders Handbook (First ed.). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. pp.  29–31. ISBN   0-671-65989-8.
  4. 1 2 3 Robertson, C. J. R. (2003). "Albatrosses (Diomedeidae)". In Hutchins, Michael; Jackson, Jerome A.; Bock, Walter J.; Olendorf, Donna (eds.). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Vol. 8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins. Joseph E. Trumpey, Chief Scientific Illustrator (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. pp. 113–116. ISBN   0-7876-5784-0.
  5. Abe, T.; Sekiguchi, K.; Onishi, H.; Muramatsu, K. & Kamito, T. (2012). "Observations on a school of ocean sunfish and evidence for a symbiotic cleaning association with albatrosses". Marine Biology. 159 (5): 1173. doi:10.1007/s00227-011-1873-6.

Further reading