Download

Osteological characters distinguishing the South Georgian Diving Petrel (Pelecanoides georgicus) from the Common Diving Petrel (P. urinatrix) are described. P. georgicus is shown to be the main diving petrel in Holocene fossil deposits at Mason Bay, Stewart Island, New Zealand, where it is represented by thousands of bones. P georgicus is also recorded from dune deposits on Chatham Island. The Codfish Island population is thus a remnant of a formerly large Pacific population that bred on Macquarie Island, Auckland Islands, Stewart Island and Chatham Island, and is therefore of high conservation priority.