NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Grey-headed Albatross
Thalassarche chrysostoma (J. R. Forster, 1785)
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 grey-headed albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma) also known as the gray-headed mollymawk, is a large seabird from the albatross family. It has a circumpolar distribution, nesting on isolated islands in the Southern Ocean and feeding at high latitudes, further south than any of the other mollymawks. Its name derives from its ashy-gray head, throat and upper neck.
Wikipedia contributors, Grey-headed albatross; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:49:23.354665+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Thalassarche chrysostoma (J. R. Forster, 1785)
- Name authority
- (J. R. Forster, 1785)
- Common name
- Grey-headed 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 chrysostoma (J. R. Forster, 1785)
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 |
| Campbell AlbatrossThalassarche impavida Mathews, 1912 | DiomedeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Buller's AlbatrossThalassarche bulleri (Rothschild, 1893) | DiomedeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Shy AlbatrossThalassarche cauta (Gould, 1841) | 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 chrysostoma J. R. Forster, 1785 J. R. Forster, 1785 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Australia
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=563381 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:55ZCB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.