NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Shy Albatross
Thalassarche cauta (Gould, 1841)
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 shy albatross (Thalassarche cauta), also known as the shy mollymawk, is a medium-sized albatross that breeds on three remote islands off the coast of Tasmania, Australia, in the southern Indian Ocean. Its lifespan is about 60 years, and it has been seen as far afield as South Africa and the Pacific coast of the United States. As of June 2020, the species is listed as "Endangered" in Australia; there are thought to be 15,000 pairs of shy albatross left. It is Australia's only endemic albatross.
Some authorities call this species the white-capped albatross, but that name is more commonly applied to Thalassarche cauta steadi.
Wikipedia contributors, Shy albatross; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:30:47.885263+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Thalassarche cauta (Gould, 1841)
- Name authority
- (Gould, 1841)
- Common name
- Shy Albatross
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Procellariiformes
- Family
- Diomedeidae
- Genus
- Thalassarche
- 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
- genusThalassarche Reichenbach, 1853
- speciesThalassarche cauta (Gould, 1841)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Thalassarche. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Yellow-nosed AlbatrossThalassarche carteri (Rothschild, 1903) | DiomedeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Grey-headed AlbatrossThalassarche chrysostoma (J. R. Forster, 1785) | DiomedeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Campbell AlbatrossThalassarche impavida Mathews, 1912 | DiomedeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Buller's AlbatrossThalassarche bulleri (Rothschild, 1893) | DiomedeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chatham AlbatrossThalassarche eremita Murphy, 1930 | DiomedeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Salvin's AlbatrossThalassarche salvini (Rothschild, 1893) | 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 cauta Gould, 1841 Gould, 1841 | synonym |
| Diomedea cauta cauta Gould, 1841 Gould, 1841 | 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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=554451 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:55ZC9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.