The
great albatrosses are
seabirds in the
genus Diomedea in the
albatross family. The genus
Diomedea formerly included all albatrosses except the
sooty albatrosses, but in 1996 the genus was split, with the
mollymawks and the
North Pacific albatrosses both being elevated to separate genera. The great albatrosses themselves form two species complexes, the wandering and Amsterdam albatrosses, and the royal albatrosses. The splitting of the great albatrosses into six or seven
species has been accepted by most, though not all authorities.