Audubon's shearwater ill-resolved clade also including such species as the little shearwater, the Manx shearwater ("P. puffinus") or the black-vented shearwater ("P. opisthomelas"). The little-known Heinroth's shearwater ("P. heinrothi") is sometimes considered a subspecies of either Audubon's or the little shearwater. Though it is likely to be another member of that close-knit group, its actual relationships remain uncertain due to lack of specimens. Audubon's shearwater itself has around 10 subspecies. Several have at one time or another been suggested to constitute separate species. For example, the Galápagos Islands population has turned out to be a very distinct species, the Galápagos shearwater ("P.
Audubon's shearwater likely, as yet another synonym of "dichrous". The case of the more distinct "bannermani", the range of which is parapatric to that of the Pacific "dichrous", is more complicated. It has for some time been proposed as a distinct species, Bannerman's shearwater ("P. bannermani"). In the absence of more recent data to investigate this claim, its status continues to be altogether unresolved, though the case for it being at least a distinct subspecies in the "bailloni" clade seems good. Audubon's shearwater The Audubon's shearwater ("Puffinus lherminieri") is a common tropical seabird in the petrel family. Sometimes known as the dusky-backed