Puffinus be divided in what has been called the "Puffinus" and the "Neonectris" group after notable species; the latter has been separated as a distinct genus named "Ardenna". The former is taxonomically confusing, with species having been split and remerged in the last years. The genus "Puffinus" contains the following species: Several fossil species which became extinct long ago are also known. The proportion of larger ("Neonectris") species apparently was larger before the Pliocene, i.e. before marine mammals diversified: ""Puffinus" arvernensis" (Early Miocene of France) is now considered a primitive albatross of the fossil genus "Plotornis". Puffinus Puffinus is a genus
Gwennap Head 15 October each year and most of the recording was by volunteers who spent up to twelve hours a day on seawatch. The main targeted species were Balearic shearwater ("Puffinus mauretanicus") and basking shark, along with the ocean sunfish (or common mola). Marine mammals such as whales, dolphins and grey seal ("Halichoerus grypus") were additional main targets. During a seawatch on 28 August 2015 a red-billed tropicbird ("Phaethon aethereus") was seen over the Runnel Stone, a bird that usually frequents tropical areas. Gwennap Head is part of the Land’s End granite massif with shallow, free-draining and acidic soils. The dominant