Taxonomy
The Tufted Puffin was first described in 1769 by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas. Its generic name is derived from the Latin Fratercula "little brother", and the specific epithet cirrhata means "tufted". Since it may be more closely related to the Rhinoceros Auklet than the other puffins, it is sometimes placed in the monotypic genus Lunda.
The juveniles, due to their similarity to C. monocerata, were initially mistaken for a distinct species of a monotypic genus, and named Sagmatorrhina lathami ("Latham's Saddle-billed Auk", from sagmata "saddle" and rhina "nose").
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