Phoebastria

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Aequornithes
Ordo: Procellariiformes

Familia: Diomedeidae
Genus: Phoebastria
Species: P. albatrus – †P. anglica – †P. californica – P. immutabilis – P. irrorata – P. nigripes – †P. rexsularum
Name

Phoebastria Reichenbach, 1853
References

Handbuch der speciellen Ornithologie lfr.3DieVogel p. V

Vernacular names
English: North Pacific albatross

The North Pacific albatrosses are large seabirds from the genus Phoebastria in the albatross family. They are the most tropical of the albatrosses, with two species (the Laysan and black-footed albatrosses) nesting in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, one on sub-tropical islands south of Japan (the short-tailed albatross), and one nesting on the equator (the waved albatross).
Taxonomy

Their taxonomy is very confusing, as with all albatrosses. It is widely accepted now, based on molecular evidence and the fossil record, that they are a distinct genus from Diomedea in which formerly most "white" albatrosses were placed but which is now restricted to the "great" albatrosses.[2] They share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. Although the nostrils on the albatross are on the sides of the bill. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between seven and nine horny plates. Finally, they produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This is used against predators as well as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights.[3] They also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and that helps desalinate their bodies, to compensate for the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe. It excretes a high saline solution from their nose.[4]
Species

Genus Phoebastria – North Pacific albatrosses

Genus **Phoebastria** – Reichenbach, 1853 – four species
Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Laysan albatross	Phoebastria immutabilis (Rothschild, 1893)	Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, particularly the islands of Midway and Laysan	Size: Habitat: Diet:	NT
black-footed albatross	Phoebastria nigripes (Audubon, 1839)	Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, from Kure Atoll to Kaula Island	Size: Habitat: Diet:	NT
waved albatross	Phoebastria irrorata (Salvin, 1883)	Ecuador and Peru	Size: Habitat: Diet:	CR
short-tailed albatross	Phoebastria albatrus (Pallas, 1769)	North Pacific	Size: Habitat: Diet:	VU

This genus and Diomedea had already diverged in the Middle Miocene (12–15 mya). Several fossil forms are known, which incidentally prove that Phoebastria was formerly distributed in the North Atlantic also. The current distribution is thus a relict. The oldest known species, P. californica, was at least the size of the short-tailed albatross and may have been an ancestor of that bird.

Fossil species

Phoebastria californica (Temblor Middle Miocene of Sharktooth Hill, US)
Phoebastria anglica (Middle Pliocene – Early Pleistocene of NC Atlantic coasts)
Phoebastria cf. albatrus (San Diego Late Pliocene of San Diego County, US) – formerly Diomedea howardae
Phoebastria rexsularum
Phoebastria cf. immutabilis (San Pedro Pleistocene of San Pedro, US)
Phoebastria cf. nigripes (San Pedro Pleistocene of San Pedro, US)

Waved albatross pair
Description

The North Pacific albatross ranges in size from 190 to 240 cm (75–94 in) and they all have short black tails.[5]
Behavior

The feeding habits of these albatrosses are similar to other albatrosses in that they eat fish, squid, crustacea, and carrion.[5]

Observations made during June 2010 from the Hokkaido University research vessel the Oshoro Maru in the western North Pacific showed an apparent symbiotic relationship between a school of 57 ocean sunfish (Mola mola) and Laysan and black-footed albatrosses. The sunfish were infected with the mesoparasitic copepods from the genus Pennella and the albatrosses were seen to remove these parasites from the sunfish which appeared to be actively attempting to attract the albatrosses.[6]

When roosting, they choose isolated sites and lay one egg, with both parents incubating and raising the chick. They are monogamous species, and they don't start breeding until they are 5–15 years old.[5]
See also

List of albatross breeding locations

References

"Diomedeidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
Nunn, Gary B.; Cooper, John; Jouventin, Pierre; Robertson, Chris J. R. & Robertson Graham G. (1996). "Evolutionary relationships among extant albatrosses (Procellariiformes: Diomedeidae) established from complete cytochrome-b gene sequences" (PDF). Auk. 113 (4): 784–801. doi:10.2307/4088857.
Double, M. C. (2003). "Procellariiformes (Tubenosed Seabirds)". In Hutchins, Michael; Jackson, Jerome A.; Bock, Walter J.; Olendorf, Donna (eds.). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Vol. 8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins. Joseph E. Trumpey, Chief Scientific Illustrator (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. pp. 107–111. ISBN 0-7876-5784-0.
Ehrlich, Paul R.; Dobkin, David, S.; Wheye, Darryl (1988). The Birders Handbook (First ed.). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. pp. 29–31. ISBN 0-671-65989-8.
Robertson, C. J. R. (2003). "Albatrosses (Diomedeidae)". In Hutchins, Michael; Jackson, Jerome A.; Bock, Walter J.; Olendorf, Donna (eds.). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Vol. 8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins. Joseph E. Trumpey, Chief Scientific Illustrator (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. pp. 113–116. ISBN 0-7876-5784-0.

Abe, T.; Sekiguchi, K.; Onishi, H.; Muramatsu, K. & Kamito, T. (2012). "Observations on a school of ocean sunfish and evidence for a symbiotic cleaning association with albatrosses". Marine Biology. 159 (5): 1173. doi:10.1007/s00227-011-1873-6.