# Northern fulmar (*Fulmarus glacialis*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/northern-fulmar  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis), also called Fulmar or Fulmar petrel, is a bird in the family Procellariidae of the order Procellariiformes. It is a small bird by our size class, with a representative adult body mass of 611.9 g, up to 840 g, and a wingspan of 1.07 m. This migratory, marine species is an aquatic predator and carnivore, with a geographic range of 29,450,000 km². It lays 1 egg per clutch and 1 clutch per year, incubates for 49 days, and is listed as Least Concern, not an IUCN threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 611.9 g – 840 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 1.07 m |
| Lifespan | 39 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 51 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | marine |
| Egg incubation | 49 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 6.02 years – 7.01 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Aquatic |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Procellariiformes
- family: Procellariidae
- genus: Fulmarus
- species: *Fulmarus glacialis* (Linnaeus, 1761)

Synonyms: *Procellaria glacialis*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the northern fulmar?

The northern fulmar is a bird in the family Procellariidae, order Procellariiformes. It is migratory and lives in marine habitat.

### How heavy is the northern fulmar?

Its representative adult body mass is 611.9 g, with the highest value reported by our sources at 840 g. Its wingspan is 1.07 m.

### What does the northern fulmar eat?

The northern fulmar is an aquatic predator and a carnivore.

### Is the northern fulmar endangered?

No. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) in the global IUCN assessment, which is not an IUCN threatened category.

### How long does the northern fulmar live?

Its lifespan is given as 38.96 years, with the highest value reported by our sources at 51 years.

### How many eggs does the northern fulmar lay?

It lays 1 egg per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The egg incubation period is 49 days.

### When does the northern fulmar reach sexual maturity?

It reaches sexual maturity at 6.5 years, with reported values from 6.0 to 7.0 years.

### Who named the northern fulmar?

The scientific name Fulmarus glacialis is credited to (Linnaeus, 1761).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/northern-fulmar