A Statistical Method for Identification of Albatross (Phoebastria) Species

Species-level identification of albatross bone recovered from coastal archaeological sites can be problematic. With the exception of a few diagnostic features, the osteology of the three albatross species which visit California is remarkably similar. Furthermore, there are relatively few complete comparative specimens of one of these species, the nearly extinct Short-tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus), in California biological or museum collections. However, the three albatross species differ markedly in size. This paper presents statistically established size ranges, based on measurements of museum-curated comparative specimens, for distinguishing between the species of albatross found in Pacific coast archaeological sites. As a test application, a sample of archaeological albatross bone is identified using this method.