Albatross
Albatross | |
---|---|
Waved albatross Phoebastria irrorata | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom Information | |
Domain | Eukaryota |
Kingdom | Animalia |
Subkingdom | Bilateria |
Phylum Information | |
Superphylum | Deuterostomia |
Phylum | Chordata |
Sub-phylum | Vertebrata |
Infraphylum | Gnathostomata |
Class Information | |
Superclass | Tetrapoda |
Class | Aves |
Order Information | |
Superorder | Procellariimorphae |
Order | Procellariiformes |
Sub-order | Procellarae |
Family Information | |
Superfamily | Procellarioidea |
Family | Diomedeidae |
Genus Information | |
Genera | Diomedea Phoebastria Phoebetria Thalassarche |
Population statistics |
Albatrosses are large seabirds, normally found far out in the ocean. They use their very long wings to glide just above the waves, occasionally catching fish and squid. Albatrosses make their nests in large colonies on remote islands.
Species
Scientists disagree about how many species of albatross exist; between thirteen and twenty-four have been proposed.
- Genus Diomedea; Great albatrosses
- Amsterdam albatross, Diomedea amsterdamensis
- Antipodean albatross, Diomedea antipodensis
- Northern royal albatross, Diomedea sanfordi
- Southern royal albatross, Diomedea epomophora
- Tristan albatross, Diomedea dabbenena
- Wandering albatross, Diomedea exulans
- Genus Phoebastria; North Pacific albatrosses
- Black-footed albatross, Phoebastria nigripes
- Laysan albatross, Phoebastria immutabilis
- Short-tailed albatross, Phoebastria albatrus
- Waved albatross, Phoebastria irrorata
- Genus Phoebetria; Sooty albatrosses
- Light-mantled albatross, Phoebetria palpebrata
- Sooty albatross, Phoebetria fusca
- Genus Thalassarche; Mollymawks
- Atlantic Yellow-nosed albatross, Thalassarche chlororhynchos
- Black-browed albatross, Thalassarche melanophrys
- Buller's albatross, Thalassarche bulleri
- Campbell albatross, Thalassarche impavida
- Chatham albatross, Thalassarche eremita
- Grey-headed albatross, Thalassarche chrysostoma
- Indian Yellow-nosed albatross, Thalassarche carteri
- Salvin's albatross, Thalassarche salvini
- Shy albatross, Thalassarche cauta
- White-capped albatross, Thalassarche steadi
Albatrosses in legend
The albatross is well known for its role in superstition. Albatrosses often follow ships, and were believed to be the souls of drowned sailors. It was considered to be bad luck to kill one. In Samuel Taylor Coleridge's epic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the mariner of the title tells a tale of the grim consequences of killing one of the birds.
In 1959 the crew of the ship Calpean Star, docked at Liverpool, refused to continue their voyage after they blamed on-board accidents on an albatross in the cargo, which was being taken to a zoo.
Sources
- The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America (National Geographic Society 2002)
- Albatross facts
- The Albatross in superstition