The taxonomy of the Procellariidae, or procellariids, is complex and still a matter of some debate. The traditional taxonomy breaks the procellariids into four main groups, the fulmarine petrels, the prions, the gadfly petrels and the shearwaters. Recent studies have called this arrangement into question.
Based on Austin (1996), Bretagnolle et al. (1998), Nunn & Stanley (1998) and Brooke (2004), several changes have been made from the more traditional taxonomy. The two species in the genus Bulweria are no longer considered close to the rest of the gadfly petrels; several more gadfly petrels are removed from Pterodroma and placed in Pseudobulweria (allied to the shearwaters), and the Kerguelen petrel is also removed from Pterodroma and placed in the monotypic Lugensa. Several taxa are also elevated to species status on the basis of newer studies.
Austin, Jeremy J. (1996): Molecular Phylogenetics of Puffinus Shearwaters: Preliminary Evidence from Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene Sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution6(1): 77–88 doi:10.1006/mpev.1996.0060 (HTML abstract)
Bretagnolle, V., Attié, C., Pasquet, E., (1998): Cytochrome-b evidence for validity and phylogenetic relationships of Pseudobulweria and Bulweria (Procellariidae). Auk115(1):188-195 PDf fulltext
Brooke, M. (2004): Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. ISBN0-19-850125-0
Imber, M.J. (1985): Origins, phylogeny and taxonomy of the gadfly petrels Pterodroma spp.. Ibis127: 197–229.
Nunn, Gary B. & Stanley, Scott E. (1998): Body Size Effects and Rates of Cytochrome b Evolution in Tube-Nosed Seabirds. Molecular Biology and Evolution15: 1360–1371. PDF fulltextCorrigendum