Ardenna is a genus of seabirds in the family Procellariidae. These medium-sized to large shearwater species were formerly included in the genus Puffinus.
Taxonomy 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. The title page has 1850 (original title page missing in the BHL scan but available from BSB). The Preface is dated 1852 but Mayr 1979 gives the year as 1853. 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.
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