Diomedéa
| Great albatross Temporal range: Early Pliocene to present |
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| Wandering albatross | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Procellariiformes |
| Family: | Diomedeidae |
| Genus: |
Diomedea Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Species | |
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Diomedea exulans |
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%E2%80%93Wandering_albatross_(Diomedea_exulans)_03.jpg)
Diomedea exulans
Wandering albatross
Diomedea antipodensis
Antipodean albatross
Diomedea amsterdamensis
Amsterdam albatross
Diomedea dabbenea
Tristan albatross
Diomedea sanfordi
Northern royal albatross
Diomedea epomophora
Southern royal albatross
†Diomedea milleri
†Diomedea thyridata
The great albatrosses are seabirds in the genus Diomedea in the albatross family. The genus Diomedea formerly included all albatrosses except the sooty albatrosses, but in 1996 the genus was split, with the mollymawks and the North Pacific albatrosses both being elevated to separate genera. The great albatrosses themselves form two species complexes, the wandering and Amsterdam albatrosses, and the royal albatrosses. The splitting of the great albatrosses into six or seven species has been accepted by most, though not all authorities.
Diomedea comes from the Greek hero Diomedes, who, according to legend, was driven by a storm to Italy and was stranded with his companions who were turned to birds.
The wandering albatross and the southern royal albatross are the largest of the albatrosses and are amongst the largest of flying birds. They have the largest wingspans of any bird, being up to 3.5 m (11 ft) from tip to tip, although the average is a little over 3 m (9.8 ft). Large adult males of these two species may exceed 11 kg (24 lb) in weight, as heavy as a large swan.
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Wikipedia