to the cured carcass of the fat nestling of the shearwater, a former delicacy. The original usage dates from at least 1337, but from as early as 1678 the term gradually came to be used for another, unrelated, seabird, the Atlantic puffin, an auk. The current English name was first recorded in 1835 and refers to the former nesting of this species on the Isle of Man. Extant species The genus Puffinus contains the following 21 species: Phylogeny Phylogeny of the genus based on a study by Joan Ferrer Obiol and collaborators published in 2022. Only 14 of the 21 recognised species were included. Fossil record Several fossil species which became extinct long ago are also known. The proportion of larger ("Neonectris") species apparently was larger before the Pliocene, i.e. before marine mammals diversified: "Puffinus" group Menorcan shearwater, Puffinus sp. (prehistoric) – possibly extirpated population of extant species; tentatively placed in this group Dune shearwater or Hole's shearwater, Puffinus holeae (prehistoric) Lava shearwater or Olson's shearwater, Puffinus olsoni (prehistoric) – tentatively placed in this group Bermuda shearwater, Puffinus parvus (extinct) – tentatively placed in this group Scarlett's shearwater, Puffinus spelaeus (prehistoric) Puffinus tedfordi (Pleistocene of western North America) Puffinus nestori (Late Pliocene/Early Pleistocene of Ibiza) "Neonectris" group Puffinus conradi (Early Miocene of Calvert County, US) Puffinus cf. tenuirostris (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, US) Puffinus sp. 1 (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, US) Puffinus sp. 2 (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, US) Puffinus pacificoides (Pleistocene of Saint Helena, Atlantic) Unassigned ?Puffinus raemdonckii (Early Oligocene of Belgium) – formerly in Larus Puffinus micraulax (Early Miocene of C Florida, US) – probably "Puffinus" group Puffinus sp. (Early Miocene of Calvert County, US) Puffinus sp. (Early Pliocene of South Africa) Puffinus felthami (Pleistocene of W North America) Puffinus kanakoffi (Pleistocene of W North America) "Puffinus" arvernensis (Early Miocene of France) is now considered a primitive albatross of the fossil genus Plotornis. See also List of extinct birds References Further reading Brooke, M. (2004): Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Bird genera Taxa named by Mathurin Jacques Brisson