''Pachyptila'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Procellariidae The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the diving petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes (or tubenoses), which als ...

and the order

Procellariiformes Procellariiformes is an order (biology), order of seabirds that comprises four family (biology), families: the albatrosses, the Procellariidae, petrels and shearwaters, and two families of storm petrels. Formerly called Tubinares and still call ...

. The members of this genus and the

blue petrel The blue petrel (''Halobaena caerulea'') is a small seabird in the shearwater and petrel family, Procellariidae. This small petrel is the only member of the genus ''Halobaena'', but is closely allied to the prions. It is distributed across the So ...

form a sub-group called

prions Prions are misfolded proteins that have the ability to transmit their misfolded shape onto normal variants of the same protein. They characterize several fatal and transmissible neurodegenerative diseases in humans and many other animals. It i ...

. They range throughout the southern hemisphere, often in the much cooler higher latitudes. Three species, the broad-billed prion (''Pachyptila vittata''), the

Antarctic prion The Antarctic prion (''Pachyptila desolata'') also known as the dove prion, or totorore in Māori, is the largest of the prions, a genus of small petrels of the Southern Ocean. Taxonomy The Antarctic prion was formally described in 1789 by ...

(''Pachyptila desolata'') and the

fairy prion The fairy prion (''Pachyptila turtur'') is a small seabird with the standard prion plumage of blue-grey upperparts with a prominent dark "M" marking and white underneath. The sexes are alike. This is a small prion of the low subantarctic and sub ...

(''Pachyptila turtur''), range into the subtropics.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Pachyptila'' was introduced in 1811 by the German zoologist

Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger (19 November 1775 – 10 May 1813) was a German entomologist and zoologist. Illiger was the son of a merchant in Braunschweig. He studied under the entomologist Johann Hellwig, and later worked on the zoological colle ...

. The name combines the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

''pakhus '' meaning "dense" or "thick" with ''ptilon'' meaning "feather" or "plumage". The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

was subsequently designated as the broad-billed prion by English naturalist

Prideaux John Selby Prideaux John Selby FRSE FLS (23 July 1788 – 27 March 1867) was an English ornithologist, botanist and natural history artist. Life Selby was born in Bondgate Street in Alnwick in Northumberland, the eldest son of George Selby of Beal a ...

in 1840. The English name "prion" comes from the

(', "saw"), in reference to the serrated edges of its

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

. All the members of this genus, along with the rest of the

, share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called

naricorns A nostril (or naris , plural ''nares'' ) is either of the two orifices of the nose. They enable the entry and exit of air and other gasses through the nasal cavities. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called tur ...

, 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. The genus produces a stomach oil made up of

wax ester A wax ester (WE) is an ester of a fatty acid and a fatty alcohol. Wax esters comprise the main components of three commercially important waxes: carnauba wax, candelilla wax, and beeswax.. Wax esters are formed by combining one fatty acid with on ...

s and

triglyceride A triglyceride (TG, triacylglycerol, TAG, or triacylglyceride) is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids (from ''wikt:tri-#Prefix, tri-'' and ''glyceride''). Triglycerides are the main constituents of body fat in humans and other ...

s that is stored in the

proventriculus The proventriculus is part of the digestive system of birds.Encarta World English Dictionary orth American Edition(2007). ''Proventriculus''. Source: (accessed: December 18, 2007) An analogous organ exists in invertebrates and insects. Birds Th ...

. This can be sprayed out of their mouths as a defence against predators and as an energy-rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. Finally, they also have a

salt gland The salt gland is an organ for excreting excess salts. It is found in the cartilaginous fishes subclass elasmobranchii (sharks, rays, and skates), seabirds, and some reptiles. Salt glands can be found in the rectum of sharks. Birds and reptiles ...

that is situated above the nasal passage and helps free their bodies of the salt in the seawater they often imbibe. The gland excretes a concentrated saline solution from the nose.Ehrlich, Paul R. (1988)

Species

The genus contains the following seven species.

Behaviour

The members of this genus primarily eat

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

by filtering water through their upper

. Some even hydroplane, a technique where they

filter Filter, filtering or filters may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming * Filter (software), a computer program to process a data stream * Filter (video), a software component tha ...

food out the water while flying with their bill in the

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

. They breed colonially, and do so near the ocean, usually with the same mate for life. Both sexes help incubate the egg, and care for the chick.Maynard, B. J. (2003)

Range and habitat

They are

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or w ...

and seldom come to land, except to breed. Also, they all stay in the Southern Hemisphere, and breed on

subantarctic The sub-Antarctic zone is a region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46° and 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region includes many islands ...

islands except the

which breeds on subtropical islands.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2460293 Bird genera Procellariidae *