Tufted puffin Latin "fratercula", friar, a reference to the black and white plumage which resembles monastic robes. The specific name "cirrhata" is Latin for "curly-headed", from "cirrus", a curl of hair. The vernacular name "puffin" – puffed in the sense of swollen – was originally applied to the fatty, salted meat of young birds of the unrelated species, the Manx shearwater ("Puffinus puffinus"), formerly known as the "Manks puffin". It is an Anglo-Norman word (Middle English "pophyn" or "poffin") used for the cured carcasses. The Atlantic puffin acquired the name at a much later stage, possibly because of its similar nesting habits,
Cape Byron Marine Park identifies the migratory little tern "(Sterna albifrons)" and the Beach stone-curlew "(Esacus neglectus)" as endangered. Seabirds that utilize the Cape Byron Marine Park are the providence pretal "(Pterodroma solandri)", flesh-footed shearwater "(Puffinus carneipes)", and the masked booby "(Sula dactylatra)" which are protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. Although no invertebrates have been identified as endangered or vulnerable, it is important to acknowledge that there are a plethora of invertebrates within the Cape Byron Marine Park which are critical to the health of the local ecosystems. These include a variety of molluscs such as the gold ring cowries