The word Albatross is supposedly an English corruption of the Portuguese word 'alcatraz' meaning large seabird. In this way it describes Albatrosses expertly.
Albatrosses are amongst the world's larger birds.
Albatrosses can be distinguished from the other petrels because their tubular nostrils are placed at either side of the top mandible of their bill rather than being fused together on top. There are at least 8 species of fossil Albatross which have been named. Fossil albatross have been found in England and USA and Japan, indicating that they once had a northern distribution which is believed to have ended 20 MYA when the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans ceased to meet in the Panama. The problem is the practically windless bit of ocean at the Equator called the doldrums which forms an effective barrier to birds which are dependent on wind to allow them to fly long distances. Surprisingly, none of the extinct Albatrosses were as large as the modern Wandering Albatross.