Snow Petrel
| Snow petrel | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Procellariiformes |
| Family: | Procellariidae |
| Genus: |
Pagodroma Bonaparte, 1856 |
| Species: | P. nivea |
| Binomial name | |
|
Pagodroma nivea (G. Forster, 1777) |
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| Sub-species | |
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P. nivea nivea(G. Forster, 1777) |
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P. nivea nivea(G. Forster, 1777)
P. nivea confusa(Mathews, 1912)
The snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) is the only member of the genus Pagodroma. It is one of only three birds that breed exclusively in Antarctica and has been seen at the South Pole. It has the most southerly breeding distribution of any bird.
The snow petrel is the only member of the genus Pagodroma, and a member of the sub-family fulmarine petrels. They in turn are all members of the Procellariidae family, and the Procellariiformes order. They all share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between seven and nine horny plates. They produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This can be sprayed out of their mouths as a defense against predators and as an energy rich food source for the chicks and for the adults during their long flights. Finally, they also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe. It excretes a high saline solution from their nose.
There are two subspecies,
They differ in size, and the greater form has a stouter, larger beak.
The issue of taxonomy and nomenclature for this species is complex, and represents an example of many of the unusual problems which arise out of the varied use of the terminology.
The snow petrel was first named Procellaria nivea by Georg Forster, during Captain James Cook's third voyage in 1777. As Forster's mention of the petrel was only an observation, the authority of the name fell to Gmelin, in his Systema Naturae. Incidentally, a skin was procured by Cook, who noted this in his own account (1777). It was J. R. Forster who painted a picture of it, and made measurements as well, but only the latter were published, posthumously, by M. H. K. Lichtenstein in 1844. While Gmelin was recognized as the authority for P. nivea until the early twentieth century, the evidence has allowed for Forster to be construed as such, as he had created the name. In addition, Latham (1785) had described the type, which was in the Leverian Museum, but did not invoke Forster's scientific name for it.
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Wikipedia