Puffin are closely related, together composing the subfamily Fraterculini. The scientific name "Fratercula" is derived from Latin and means "little brother", a reference to the black and white plumage, which resembles monastic robes. The English name "puffin" – puffed in the sense of swollen – was originally applied to the fatty, salted meat of young birds of the unrelated Manx shearwater ("Puffinus puffinus"), formerly known as the "Manks puffin". Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word (Middle English "pophyn" or "poffin") for the cured carcasses of nestling Manx shearwaters. The oldest alcid fossil is "Hydrotherikornis" from Oregon dating to the Late Eocene while
Shearwater Shearwater Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds. There are more than 30 species of shearwaters, a few larger ones in the genus "Calonectris" and many smaller species in the genus "Puffinus". The "Procellaria" petrels and "Bulweria" were believed to belong to this group, but are only distantly related based on more recent studies, while the "Pseudobulweria" and "Lugensa" "petrels" are more closely related. The genus "Puffinus" can be divided into a group of small species close to "Calonectris" and a few larger ones more distantly related to both. These birds are most common in temperate and cold waters. They are pelagic