CreatureData

Galápagos petrel

Pterodroma phaeopygia (Salvin, 1876)

CRCritically Endangeredbirds

The galápagos petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia) is a species in the family Procellariidae, order Procellariiformes. Recorded adults weigh 400.8 g to 430 g and live up to 7 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Critically Endangered.

Galápagos petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia)
Photo: Rémi Bigonneau · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the galápagos petrel

Weight
400.8 g – 430 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
99 cm – 1.1 msrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
7 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
35 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
55 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the galápagos petrel?

GALÁPAGOS PETREL · WINGSPAN 1.1 MADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 1.1 m, the recorded maximum wingspan of the galápagos petrel is about 65% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Photos of the galápagos petrel

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Galápagos petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia)
Plate: John Gerrard Keulemans, 1842-1912 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the galápagos petrel live?

Not recorded

What is the galápagos petrel?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Galápagos petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia) is one of the six endemic seabirds of the Galápagos. Its scientific name derives from Ancient Greek: Pterodroma originates from pteron and dromos, meaning "wing" and "runner", and phaeopygia comes from phaios and pugios, meaning "dusky" and "rump". Members of Pterodroma genus are also called the gadfly petrels because their erratic twisting and turning in flight resemble that of gadflies.

Known by locals as pata pegada or "web-footed one", Galápagos petrels are highly adapted to the ocean and spend most of their time at sea eating invertebrates and fish. At sea, they are indistinguishable from the Hawaiian petrels: consequently, they were considered the same species for a while. When breeding season arises, they return to their large colonies located on the highlands of some Galápagos islands.

The populations of Galápagos petrels have declined substantially over the last three generations (60 years) due to anthropogenic disturbances. Introduced predation (i.e. feral cats, dogs, pigs, and rats) and agricultural expansion have decreased the species' overall breeding success, survivability, and quality of habitats and nesting colonies. Although many conservation efforts are underway, its populations are currently still declining with an estimate of 6,000–15,000 mature individuals remaining. The species is now classified under "critically endangered" in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

From the Wikipedia article “Galápagos petrel” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gal%C3%A1pagos_petrel&oldid=1332657522), 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 galápagos petrel endangered?

The galápagos petrel is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

  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 Critically Endangered species. What the categories mean.

How is the galápagos petrel classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderProcellariiformes
  5. familyProcellariidae
  6. genusPterodroma
  7. SpeciesPterodroma phaeopygia (Salvin, 1876)

Synonyms Oestrelata phaeopygia, Pterodroma phaeopygia phaeopygia

Other names and names in other languages (50)
  • Dark-rumped petrelEnglish
  • Dark-rumped petrelEnglish
  • Galapagos petrelEnglish
  • Galapagos petrelEnglish
  • نوء غالاباغوسArabic
  • بترل غالاباغوسArabic
  • petrell de les GalápagosCatalan
  • buřňák tmavohřbetýCzech
  • pedryn y GalapagosWelsh
  • GalápagospetrelDanish
  • HawaiisturmvogelGerman
  • früher HawaiisturmvogelGerman
  • GalapagossturmvogelGerman
  • GalápagossturmvogelGerman
  • Hawaii-SturmvogelGerman
  • galapaga petreloEsperanto
  • Galapaga burdopetreloEsperanto
  • Petrel LomioscuroSpanish
  • Petrel de GalápagosSpanish
  • petrel de las GalápagosSpanish
  • lauk-tormilindEstonian
  • مرغ باران گالاپاگوسPersian
  • havaijinviistäjäFinnish
  • galapagosinviistäjäFinnish
  • galápagosinviistäjäFinnish
  • Pétrel des GalapagosFrench
  • Diablotin des GalapagosFrench
  • galapagoski zovojCroatian
  • Galapagoška burnicaCroatian
  • sötétfarkú viharmadárHungarian
  • Petrel tunggir-hitamIndonesian
  • Petrello delle GalapagosItalian
  • ハワイシロハラミズナギドリJapanese
  • ガラパゴスシロハラミズナギドリJapanese
  • havajinis audrašauklisLithuanian
  • Galapagu vētrasputnsLatvian
  • Hawaii-stormvogelDutch
  • GalápagosstormvogelDutch
  • ZwartborststormvogelDutch
  • galapagospetrellNorwegian
  • petrel galapagoskiPolish
  • freira-das-galápagosPortuguese
  • grazina-de-sobre-escuroPortuguese
  • Галапагосский тайфунникRussian
  • tajfúnnik tmavochrbtýSlovak
  • galápagospetrellSwedish
  • Galapagos FırtınakuşuTurkish
  • тайфунник галапагоськийUkrainian
  • 暗腰圆尾鹱Chinese
  • 暗腰圓尾鸌Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the galápagos petrel

Other species in the same genus Pterodroma.

CompareGalápagos petrel vs Bermuda petrelGalápagos petrel vs Great-winged petrelGalápagos petrel vs Soft-plumaged petrelGalápagos petrel vs Black-winged petrel

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the galápagos petrel?

An adult galápagos petrel weighs 400.8 g – 430 g and has a wingspan of 99 cm – 1.1 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the galápagos petrel endangered?

The galápagos petrel is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

How long does the galápagos petrel live?

The galápagos petrel has a recorded lifespan of 7 years.

What kind of animal is the galápagos petrel?

The galápagos petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia) belongs to the family Procellariidae in the order Procellariiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

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

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Galápagos petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/galapagos-petrel

MLA

“Galápagos petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/galapagos-petrel.

BibTeX
@misc{galapagos_petrel_2026,
  title = {Galápagos petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/galapagos-petrel},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}