Bulweria

Bulweria
Bulwer's petrel, Bulweria bulwerii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Procellariidae
Genus: Bulweria
Bonaparte, 1843
Species

Bulweria bulwerii
Bulweria fallax

Bulweria is a genus of seabirds in the family Procellariidae named after English naturalist James Bulwer. The genus has two extant species, Bulwer's petrel (B. bulwerii) and Jouanin's petrel (B. fallax). A third species, the Olson's petrel (Bulweria bifax), became extinct in the early 16th century; it is known only from skeletal remains. Bulwer's Petrel ranges in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, whereas Joaunin's Petrel is confined to the northwestern Indian Ocean. Olson's Petrel is known from the Atlantic.

Bulweria petrels have long been considered related to the gadfly petrels in the genus Pterodroma, but recent mtDNA cytochrome b sequence analysis has proven them to be closely related to the shearwaters in the genus Puffinus and especially the Procellaria petrels.[1]

References

  1. Bretagnolle, Vincent; Attié, Carole & Pasquet, Eric (1998). "Cytochrome-B evidence for validity and phylogenetic relationships of Pseudobulweria and Bulweria (Procellariidae)" (PDF). Auk 115 (1): 188–195. doi:10.2307/4089123.
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