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
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