Editing Gannet (section)

==Systematics and evolution==
The three gannet [[species]] are now usually placed in the genus ''Morus'', [[Abbott's booby]] in ''[[Papasula]]'', and the remaining boobies in ''[[Sula (bird)|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.
{{Species table |genus=Morus |authority-name=[[Louis Pierre Vieillot|Vieillot]]|authority-year= 1816 |species-count=three|no-note=y|narrow-percent=75}}

{{Species table/row
|name=[[Northern gannet]] (also known as "solan goose")|binomial=[[Morus bassanus]]
|image=File:Morus bassanus adu.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=
|authority-name=Lichtenstein, MHC|authority-year= 1823|authority-not-original=yes
|range= North Atlantic on coasts influenced by the [[Gulf Stream]]
|range-image=File:Basstölpel (Sula bassana) world.png
|range-image-size=180px
|size=
|habitat=
|hunting=
|iucn-status=LC
|population=
|direction=
|subspecies=
}}
{{Species table/row
|name=Cape gannet|binomial=[[Morus capensis]]
|image=File:Cape Gannet - Morus capensis.JPG|image-size=180px |image-alt=
|authority-name=[[Alphonse Milne-Edwards|Milne-Edwards]]|authority-year= 1882|authority-not-original=
|range= Southern Africa in three islands off [[Namibia]] and three islands off [[South Africa]]
|range-image=File:Morus Capensis distribution map.PNG
|range-image-size=180px
|size=
|habitat=
|hunting=
|iucn-status=  EN
|population=
|direction=
|subspecies=
}}
{{Species table/row
|name=Australasian gannet|binomial=[[Morus serrator]]
|image=File:Gannet standing in Black Reef colony.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=
|authority-name=Gray, GR|authority-year= 1843|authority-not-original=yes
|range= Coasts of [[New Zealand]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], and [[Tasmania]]
|range-image=File:Morusserratorrgemap.png
|range-image-size=180px
|size=
|habitat=
|hunting=
|iucn-status= LC
|population=
|direction=
|subspecies=
}}
{{Species table/end}}

[[File:Gannet up close.jpg|thumb|A [[northern gannet]] in [[Bonaventure Island]]'s colony]]
[[File:Gannet, Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire (geograph 4621592).jpg|thumb|Gannet, Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire]]
[[File:Gannet4.jpg|thumb|Gannet in the Celtic Sea – Ireland]]
Most fossil gannets are from the Late [[Miocene]] or [[Pliocene]],  when the diversity of [[seabird]]s 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 mammal]]s 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 climate|equatorial]] distribution than their congeners of today.

Fossil species of gannets are:

* ''Morus loxostylus'' (Early Miocene of EC USA) – includes ''M. atlanticus''<!-- Auk 43:462; Condor38:211 -->
* ''Morus olsoni'' (Middle Miocene of Romania)<!-- AnnNHMusWien104A:237 -->
* ''Morus lompocanus'' (Lompoc Late Miocene of Lompoc, USA)<ref name=condor>{{cite journal |author=Miller, Loye |date=September–October 1961 |title=Birds from the Miocene of Sharktooth Hill, California |journal=[[Condor (journal)|The Condor]] |volume=63 |issue=5 |pages=399–402 |url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v063n05/p0399-p0402.pdf |doi=10.2307/1365299 |jstor=1365299}}</ref>
* ''Morus magnus'' (Late Miocene of California)
* ''Morus peruvianus'' (Pisco Late Miocene of Peru)
* ''Morus vagabundus'' (Temblor Late Miocene of California)<ref name=condor/>
* ''Morus willetti'' (Late Miocene of California) – formerly in ''Sula''<ref name=condor/>
* ''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)<ref name=condor/>