CreatureData

Ancient murrelet

Synthliboramphus antiquus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The ancient murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus) is a species in the family Alcidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 205.7 g to 217.7 g and live up to 5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Ancient murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus)
Photo: Eric Ellingson · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the ancient murrelet

Weight
205.7 g – 217.7 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
40 cm – 43 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
5 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
35 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
1.96 – 2src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
3 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the ancient murrelet?

ANCIENT MURRELET · WINGSPAN 43 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 43 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the ancient murrelet is about 25% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the ancient murrelet live?

Not recorded

What is the ancient murrelet?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The ancient murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus) is a bird in the auk family. The English term "murrelet" is a diminutive of "murre", a word of uncertain origins, but which may imitate the call of the common guillemot. Ancient murrelets are called "ancient" because they have grey on the back like a shawl, as worn by the elderly.

From the Wikipedia article “Ancient murrelet” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ancient_murrelet&oldid=1377250959), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the ancient murrelet endangered?

The ancient murrelet is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the ancient murrelet classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyAlcidae
  6. genusSynthliboramphus
  7. SpeciesSynthliboramphus antiquus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)

Synonyms Synthiliboramphus antiquus, Synthlboramphus antiquus

Other names and names in other languages (42)
  • موريليت قديمArabic
  • Godog gouzoug gwennBreton
  • gavotí anticCatalan
  • alkoun černohrdlýCzech
  • carfil hynafolWelsh
  • Hvidbrynet DværgalkDanish
  • SilberalkGerman
  • Κιτρινόραμφη ΆλκαGreek
  • arĝenta urietoEsperanto
  • Mérgulo antiguoSpanish
  • vaarördEstonian
  • mustakurkkumurriFinnish
  • Guillemot à cou blancFrench
  • Falcóg ársaIrish
  • Stronnag scoarnagh-ghooScottish Gaelic
  • אלקית בהירת-מקורHebrew
  • srebrnasta njorkaCroatian
  • ezüstalkaHungarian
  • FornklumbaIcelandic
  • Urietta anticaItalian
  • Urietta canutaItalian
  • ウミスズメJapanese
  • 바다쇠오리Korean
  • sidabrinė alkaLithuanian
  • sirmā kairīteLatvian
  • zilveralkDutch
  • nordstarikNorwegian
  • morzyk sędziwyPolish
  • mérgulo-anciãoPortuguese
  • torda-miúda-do-pacíficoPortuguese
  • старикRussian
  • ČáhppesčottamurriNorthern Sami
  • starček strakatýSlovak
  • črnogrla lumnicaSlovenian
  • Drevna njorčicaSerbian
  • kragalkaSwedish
  • นกมุดทะเลแก้มขาวThai
  • Ak Saçlı AlkTurkish
  • antik dalıcı martıTurkish
  • Звичайний старикUkrainian
  • моржик чорногорлийUkrainian
  • 扁嘴海雀Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the ancient murrelet

Other species in the same genus Synthliboramphus.

CompareAncient murrelet vs Japanese murreletAncient murrelet vs Guadalupe murreletAncient murrelet vs Craveri's murreletAncient murrelet vs Scripps's murrelet

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the ancient murrelet?

An adult ancient murrelet weighs 205.7 g – 217.7 g and has a wingspan of 40 cm – 43 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the ancient murrelet endangered?

The ancient murrelet is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the ancient murrelet live?

The ancient murrelet has a recorded lifespan of 5 years.

What kind of animal is the ancient murrelet?

The ancient murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus) belongs to the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Ancient murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ancient-murrelet

MLA

“Ancient murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/ancient-murrelet.

BibTeX
@misc{ancient_murrelet_2026,
  title = {Ancient murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/ancient-murrelet},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}