Antipodean albatross
| Antipodean albatross | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Diomedea antipodensis gibsoni | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Procellariiformes |
| Family: | Diomedeidae |
| Genus: | Diomedea |
| Species: | D. antipodensis |
| Binomial name | |
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Diomedea antipodensis (Robertson & Warham 1992) |
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| Sub-species | |
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Diomedea antipodensis antipodensis Robertson & Warham 1992 |
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| Synonyms | |
Diomedea antipodensis antipodensis Robertson & Warham 1992
Diomedea antipodensis gibsoni
Diomedea exulans antipodensis
Robertson & Warham 1992
The Antipodean albatross (Diomedea antipodensis) 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 wanderers.
Diomedea antipodensis breaks into Diomedea referring to Diomedes, whose companions turned to birds, and antipodensis, the Latin form of the Antipodes Islands, where they are found.
The Antipodean albatross belongs to the order Procellariiformes. Like all members of this order, they have naricorns, tubular nasal passages on their bill. They also have a unique palate with seven to nine bony plates. One of the great albatrosses of the genus Diomedea, it was only distinguished as a subspecies of the wandering albatross in 1992 and recognised by some authorities as a full species in 1998. While not all scientists believe it is a full species, retaining it with the wandering albatross, a 2004 study of the and microsatellites of the wandering albatross species complex supported the split. Among the major experts, BirdLife International has split this species,Jim Clements has not yet, and the SACC has a proposal on the table to split it.
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