Ardenna

Ardenna is a genus of seabirds in the family Procellariidae. These medium-sized to large shearwater species were formerly included in the genus Puffinus.

Taxonomy

A phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial DNA published in 2004 found that Puffinus contained two distinct clades and was polyphyletic, with Puffinus more closely related to Calonectris than to Ardenna. To create monophyletic genera a group of species were moved into Ardenna, a genus that had been introduced in 1853 by Ludwig Reichenbach with the great shearwater as the type species. Reichenbach cites the Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi who in 1603 used the spelling "Artenna" for a seabird. Recent genomic studies have validated the phylogenetic distinction between Ardenna and Puffinus, though this study finding Ardenna rather than Puffinus being closer to Calonectris.

The genus contains seven extant species as shown below:

The genus contains five extinct species as shown below:

Scientific name	Stratigraphic age	Distribution
A. buchananbrowni	Late Pliocene	New Zealand
A. conradi	Middle Miocene	Maryland, USA
A. davealleni	Late Pliocene	New Zealand
A. gilmorei	Late Pliocene	California, USA
Saint [Helena shearwater\|A. pacificoides]	Pleistocene	Saint Helena

Phylogeny based on a study by Joan Ferrer Obiol and collaborators published in 2022.