Fulmarine petrels | |
---|---|
Northern fulmar | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Subclass: | Neornithes |
Infraclass: | Neoaves |
Order: | Procellariiformes |
Family: | Procellariidae |
Genera | |
Diversity | |
Five extant genera and seven species |
The fulmarine petrels or fulmar-petrels are a distinct group of petrels within the Procellariidae family. They are the most variable of the four groups within the Procellariidae, differing greatly in size and biology. They do have, however, have a unifying feature, their skull, and in particular their nasal tubes. They are predominantly found in the Southern Ocean with one species, the northern fulmar, ranging in the North Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.