Antipodean Albatross
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 Diomedea antipodensis gibsoni
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| Diomedea antipodensis Roberston and Warham, 1992 |
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Diomedea exulans antipodensis |
The Antipodean Albatross (Diomedea antipodensis) is a large seabird from the albatross family. One of the great albatrosses of the genus Diomedea, it was only distinguished as a subspecies of the Wandering Albatross in 1992 and recognised by some authorities as a full species in 1998. While not all scientists believe it is a full species, retaining it with the Wandering Albatross, a 2004 study of the mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites of the Wandering Albatross species complex supported the split. Antipodean Albatrosses are smaller than Wandering Albatrosses, and breed in predominantly brown plumage, but are otherwise difficult to distinguish from Wanderers.
Antipodean Albatrosses nest on New Zealand's outer island groups. There are two subspecies within the Antipodean Albatross, Diomedea antipodensis antipodensis, which nests on Antipodes Islands and Campbell Island and Diomedea antipodensis gibsoni, which nests on the Auckland Islands. D. a. gibsoni was considered a separate species as well after 1998, but the 2004 study showed there was little evidence to support the split. At sea Antipodean Albatrosses range across the South Pacific from Australia to as far as Chile. They feed predominantly on squid and to a lesser extent fish (unlike other albatross species they are not recorded eating any crustacea), and have been recorded visiting the spawning grounds of the giant cuttlefish off New South Wales.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2005). Diomedea antipodensis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is vulnerable
- Brooke, M. (2004). Albatrosses And Petrels Across The World: Procellariidae. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK ISBN 0-19-850125-0
- Burg, T.M., & Croxall, J.P., (2004) "Global population structure and taxonomy of the wandering albatross species complex". Molecular Ecology 13: 2345-2355. [1]
