Ardenna is a genus of seabirds in the family Procellariidae. These medium-sized shearwater species were formerly included in the genus Puffinus.
A phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial DNA published in 2004 found that Puffinus contained two distinct clades and was polyphyletic.[1][2] To create monophyletic genera a group of species were moved into Ardenna, a genus that had been introduced in 1853 by Ludwig Reichenbach with the great shearwater as the type species.[3][4] Reichenbach cites the Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi who in 1603 used the spelling "Artenna" for a seabird.[5][6]