NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Snowy Albatross
Diomedea exulans Linnaeus, 1758
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The snowy albatross (Diomedea exulans), also known as the wandering albatross, white-winged albatross, or goonie, is a large seabird from the family Diomedeidae; they have a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. It is the largest species of albatross and was long considered to be the same species as the Tristan albatross and the Antipodean albatross. Together with the Amsterdam albatross, it forms the wandering albatross species complex, which some began referring to more recently as "snowy".
The snowy albatross is one of the two largest members of the genus Diomedea (the great albatrosses), being similar in size to the southern royal albatross. It has the greatest known wingspan of any living bird and is also one of the most far-ranging birds. Some individual snowy albatrosses are known to circumnavigate the Southern Ocean three times in one year, covering more than 120,000 km (75,000 mi).
Wikipedia contributors, Snowy albatross; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:46:36.482436+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Diomedea exulans Linnaeus, 1758
- Name authority
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Common name
- Snowy Albatross
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Procellariiformes
- Family
- Diomedeidae
- Genus
- Diomedea
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderProcellariiformes
- familyDiomedeidae G. R. Gray, 1840
- genusDiomedea Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesDiomedea exulans Linnaeus, 1758
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Diomedea. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam AlbatrossDiomedea amsterdamensis J. P. Roux, Jouventin, Mougin, Stahl & Weimerskirch, 1983 | DiomedeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Antipodean AlbatrossDiomedea antipodensis C. J. R. Robertson & Warham, 1992 | DiomedeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Southern Royal AlbatrossDiomedea epomophora R. P. Lesson, 1825 | DiomedeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tristan AlbatrossDiomedea dabbenena Mathews, 1929 | DiomedeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Northern Royal AlbatrossDiomedea sanfordi Murphy, 1917 | DiomedeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Diomedea exulans exulans Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Antarctica/Southern Ocean
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Linnaeus, & Carolus. (1758). Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, Cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis, 10th Edition, Vol. 1. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:36B3N. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.