Several
species have different names in Europe and North America.
The guillemots of Europe are murres in North America,
if they occur in both continents, and the Little Auk becomes
the Dovekie. Some species, such as the Uria guillemots
nest in large colonies on cliff edges,others, like the
Cepphus guillemots breed in small groups on rocky coasts,
and the puffins, auklets and some murrelets nest in burrows.
All species except the Brachyramphus murrelets are colonial.
The earliest fossil auks are from the Miocene, 15 MYA,
although some fossils from the Eocene (25 MYA) have tentitavely
been placed as alcids. Miocene fossils have been found
in both California and Maryland, but the greater diversity
of fossils and tribes in the Pacific leads most scientists
to conclude that it was there they first evolved, and
it is in the Miocene Pacific that the first fossils of
extant genera are found. |
