Subspecies
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No
subspecies are recognized.
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Synonyms
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Alca
impennis Linnaeus,
1758 (p. 130)
Pinguinus impennis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Plautus impennis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Chenalopex impennis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Metaeoptera impennis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Alca major Brisson, 1760 (p. 85) (not
available by ICZN decision)
Alca maior auct. (misspelling)
This species has a number of pre-Linnean
names, e.g. Plautus pinguis Klein 1750
(p. 147).
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Identification
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No
information has been entered yet.
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Distribution
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The Great auk is officially extinct
since June 3, 1844, when the last two
specimens (a breeding pair and their
egg) were killed by the crew of a
fishing boat. After that date there
exist a number of unconfirmed sightings.
Before its extinction, Alca impennis was
a common species in arctic and boreal
areas of Europe and North America.
Breeding areas were the arctic islands
Funk Island (Newfoundland), Eldey and
Geirfuglasker (Iceland), and probably
other islands (Penguin Island, Wadham
Island, Westmanneyar, Faroe Islands,
Saint Kilda, Orkneys) (reviewed in Luther
1986).
The only German record is from Kiel (in
1790) where a specimen allegedly was
caught and killed. This Kiel specimen is
not preserved in any collection and thus
this record is considered doubtful (see
Luther
1986).
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Biology
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No
information has been entered yet.
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|
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Skeleton of a Great auk. Specimen in the
collection of the Zoologisches Museum,
Göttingen. Photographed and published
with kind permission by Zoologisches
Museum Göttingen.
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