NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Vanuatu Petrel
Pterodroma occulta Imber & Tennyson, 2001
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 Vanuatu petrel or Falla's petrel (Pterodroma occulta) is a species of gadfly petrel. This little-known seabird was first scientifically described in 2001 based on six specimens taken in 1927 off Merelava, Vanuatu, and a single bird found ashore in 1983 in New South Wales, Australia. The first confirmed breeding locality was only discovered in 2009 on the island of Vanua Lava, Vanuatu, but based on reports by locals it is supposed to also breed on Merelava. The IUCN has not recognized the Vanuatu petrel as a species, but maintain that it as a subspecies of the very similar white-necked petrel, P. cervicalis, with the "combined" species considered vulnerable.
The alternate name commemorates Robert Falla, a New Zealand ornithologist.
Wikipedia contributors, Vanuatu petrel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:08:18.024632+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pterodroma occulta Imber & Tennyson, 2001
- Name authority
- Imber & Tennyson, 2001
- Common name
- Vanuatu Petrel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Procellariiformes
- Family
- Procellariidae
- Genus
- Pterodroma
- 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
- familyProcellariidae Leach, 1820
- genusPterodroma Bonaparte, 1856
- speciesPterodroma occulta Imber & Tennyson, 2001
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pterodroma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Chatham Islands PetrelPterodroma axillaris (Salvin, 1893) | ProcellariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Barau's PetrelPterodroma baraui (Jouanin, 1964) | ProcellariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bermuda PetrelPterodroma cahow (Nichols & Mowbray, 1916) | ProcellariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-necked PetrelPterodroma cervicalis (Salvin, 1891) | ProcellariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cook's PetrelPterodroma cookii (G. R. Gray, 1843) | ProcellariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Masatierra PetrelPterodroma defilippiana (Giglioli & Salvadori, 1869) | ProcellariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Desertas PetrelPterodroma deserta Mathews, 1934 | ProcellariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Juan Fernandez PetrelPterodroma externa (Salvin, 1875) | ProcellariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Herald PetrelPterodroma heraldica (Salvin, 1888) | ProcellariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mottled PetrelPterodroma inexpectata (J. R. Forster, 1844) | ProcellariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gould's PetrelPterodroma leucoptera (Gould, 1844) | ProcellariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Kermadec PetrelPterodroma neglecta (Schlegel, 1863) | ProcellariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Pterodroma cervicalis occulta Imber & Tennyson, 2001 Imber & Tennyson, 2001 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
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.
- Imber, Michael John, & and Alan James Drummond Tennyson. (2001). A new petrel species (Procellariidae) from the south-west Pacific. Emu, Vol. 101, No. 2. 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:4PWKZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.