---
title: "What’s in a name?  The Wandering Albatross is Diomedea exulans"
---

# What’s in a name?  The Wandering Albatross is Diomedea exulans

![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/W/Wandering_Albatross_by_John_Cooper.jpg)

 An old male Wandering Albatross and its downy chick at Marion Island

 Photograph by John Cooper

 Richard Schodde ([Australian National Wildlife Collection](http://www.csiro.au/en/Research/Collections/ANWC)*,* CSIRO National Research Collections Australia, Canberra. Australia) and colleagues have published in the journal [*Zootaxa*](http://www.mapress.com/j/zt/index) on the taxonomy of the Wandering Albatross *Diomedea exulans*.

 The paper’s abstract follows:

 “On-going conflict in use of the name *Diomedea exulans* Linnaeus, 1758 for different taxa of the great albatrosses (Wandering Albatross complex) is resolved by neotypification, fixing the name to the large subantarctic form formerly often known as *D. chionoptera* Salvin, 1896.  Application of all scientific names in the complex is reviewed, an annotated synonymy for the large subantarctic form is provided, available names for smaller, temperate-zone forms are listed, and unavailable and otherwise invalid names referable to the complex are identified.  Syntypes of *D. chionoptera* and *D. spadicea* J.F. Gmelin, 1789 are lectotypified as well, fixing their names as synonyms of *D. exulans* to prevent possible disturbance to in-use names for the smaller, temperate-zone forms.” 

 **Reference:**

 Schodde, R., Tennyson, A.J.D., Groth, J.G., Lai, J., Scofield, P. & Steinheimer, F.D. 2017.  Settling the name *Diomedea exulans* Linnaeus, 1758 for the Wandering Albatross by neotypification.  [*Zootaxa* 4236, No 1.  doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4236.1.7](http://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4236.1.7).

 *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 09 March 2017*