page_title: Gannet
section_title: Systematics and evolution
hierarchical_section_title: Gannet / Systematics and evolution
caption_attribution_description: English: Gannet in the Celtic Sea, Ireland.
context_page_description: Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus, in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies. "Gannet" is derived from Old English ganot, ultimately from the same Old Germanic root as "gander". Morus is derived from Ancient Greek moros, "foolish", due to the lack of fear shown by breeding gannets and boobies, allowing them to be easily killed.
  Gannets are large white birds with yellowish heads; black-tipped wings; and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, having a wingspan of up to 2 m. The other two species occur in the temperate seas around southern Africa, southern Australia, and New Zealand.
  Gannets hunt fish by diving into the sea from a height and pursuing their prey underwater, and have a number of adaptations:
  They have no external nostrils; they are located inside the mouth, instead.
  They have air sacs in the face and chest under the skin, which act like bubble wrap, cushioning the impact with the water.
  The position of their eyes is far enough forward on the face for binocular vision, allowing them to judge distances accurately.
context_section_description: The three gannet species are now usually placed in the genus Morus, Abbott's booby in Papasula, and the remaining boobies in Sula. However, some authorities believe that all nine sulid species should be considered congeneric, in Sula. At one  time, the various gannet species were considered to be a single species.
  Most fossil gannets are from the Late Miocene or Pliocene,  when the diversity of seabirds in general was much higher than today. The cause the decline in species at the end of the Pleistocene is not clear; increased competition due to the spread of marine mammals may have played a role.
  The genus Morus is much better documented in the fossil record than Sula, though the latter is more numerous today. The reasons are not clear; boobies possibly were better adapted or simply "lucky" to occur in the right places for dealing with the challenges of the Late Pliocene ecological change, or  many more fossil boobies could still await discovery. Notably, gannets are today restricted to temperate oceans, while boobies are also found in tropical waters, whereas several of the prehistoric gannet species had a more equatorial distribution than their congeners of today.
  Fossil species of gannets are:
  Morus loxostylus (Early Miocene of EC USA) – includes M. atlanticus
  Morus olsoni (Middle Miocene of Romania)
  Morus lompocanus (Lompoc Late Miocene of Lompoc, USA)
  Morus magnus (Late Miocene of California)
  Morus peruvianus (Pisco Late Miocene of Peru)
  Morus vagabundus (Temblor Late Miocene of California)
  Morus willetti (Late Miocene of California) – formerly in Sula
  Morus sp. (Temblor Late Miocene of Sharktooth Hill, US: Miller 1961) – possibly M. magnus
  Morus sp. 1 (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, US)
  Morus sp. 2 (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, US)
  Morus peninsularis (Early Pliocene)
  Morus recentior (Middle Pliocene of California, US)
  Morus reyanus – Del Rey gannet (Late Pleistocene of W US)
caption: Gannet in the Celtic Sea – Ireland
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