Blue-eyed shag

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Blue-eyed shags
SGI-2016-South Georgia (Cooper Bay)-Blue-eyed shag (Phalacrocorax atriceps).jpg
South Georgia shag
Phalacrocorax georgianus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Suliformes
Family: Phalacrocoracidae
Genus: Leucocarbo
Bonaparte, 1856
Type species
Carbo bougainvillii (guanay cormorant)
Lesson, 1837
Species

See text

Synonyms

Phalacrocorax (in part)
Euleucocarbo
Nesocarbo
Notocarbo

Leucocarbo is a genus of birds in the family Phalacrocoracidae. Several species within the genus are collectively known as blue-eyed shags. This is a group of closely related cormorant taxa. Many have a blue, purple or red ring around the eye (not a blue iris); other shared features are white underparts (at least in some individuals) and pink feet. [1]

They are found around the colder parts of the Southern Hemisphere, especially near southern South America, Antarctica, and New Zealand. Many are endemic to remote islands. Determining which types are species and which are subspecies of what larger species is problematic; various recent authorities have recognized from 8 to 14 species and have placed them in a variety of genera. The common names are even more confusing, "like myriad footprints criss-crossing in the snow and about as easy to disentangle." Only one common name is given for most species here. [1]

Taxonomy

The genus Leucocarbo was introduced in 1856 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. [2] He did not specify a type species but this was designated as the guanay cormorant by William Ogilvie-Grant in 1898. [3] [4] The name Leucocarbo combines the Ancient Greek leukos meaning "white" with the genus name Carbo introduced by Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799. [5]

A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that Leucocarbo is sister to the American cormorants in the genus Nannopterum ; the genera split between 6.7 - 8.0 million years ago. [6]

The genus contains 16 species: [7]

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Phalacrocorax magellanicus - Magellan Cormorant 02.jpg Leucocarbo magellanicus Rock shag or Magellanic cormorantThe coast of Argentina, Uruguay and southern Chile.
Leucocarbo bougainvillii, Islas Ballestas 5.jpg Leucocarbo bougainvillii Guanay cormorant The western coast of South America (Extirpated from Argentina).
Leucocarbo-ranfurlyi-MATTERN.jpg Leucocarbo ranfurlyi Bounty shag Bounty Islands.
King Shag - Picton - New Zealand (39124704222).jpg Leucocarbo carunculatus New Zealand king shag, rough-faced shag or kawau New Zealand.
20181001 ChathamsA9D3 444 DxO (cropped).jpg Leucocarbo onslowi Chatham shag Chatham Islands.
Leucocarbo chalconotus (10741237885).jpg Leucocarbo chalconotus Otago shag Eastern coast of New Zealand.
Stewart Island Shag - Stewart Island - New Zealand (24295164267).jpg Leucocarbo stewarti Foveaux shag Stewart Island and the Foveaux Strait.
Auckland Shag on Enderby Island, 2006.jpg Leucocarbo colensoi Auckland shag Auckland Islands.
Phalacrocorax campbelli.jpg Leucocarbo campbelli Campbell shag Campbell Island.
Imperial Shags b.jpg Leucocarbo atriceps Imperial shag or blue-eyed shagSouthern Chile and Argentina.
SGI-2016-South Georgia (Cooper Bay)-South Georgia Shag (Leucocarbo georgianus) (cropped).jpg Leucocarbo georgianus South Georgia shag South Georgia and the Shag Rocks.
Cormoran de Crozet a la pointe du Bougainville.jpg Leucocarbo melanogenis Crozet shag The Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland Islands and Elephant Island.
Antarctic Shags at Jougla Point, Antarctica (6063123007).jpg Leucocarbo bransfieldensis Antarctic shag Crozet Island, Prince Edward Island and Marion Island.
Phalacrocorax verrucosus (AM LB8512).jpg Leucocarbo verrucosus Kerguelen shag Kerguelen Islands.
Leucocarbo nivalis Heard Island shag Heard and McDonald Islands.
MacquarieIslandCormorant.JPG Leucocarbo purpurascens Macquarie shag Macquarie Island.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cormorant</span> Family of aquatic birds

Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven genera. The great cormorant and the common shag are the only two species of the family commonly encountered in Britain and Ireland and "cormorant" and "shag" appellations have been later assigned to different species in the family somewhat haphazardly.

<i>Phalacrocorax</i> Genus of birds

Phalacrocorax is a genus of fish-eating birds in the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. Members of this genus are also known as the Old World cormorants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reed cormorant</span> Species of bird

The reed cormorant, also known as the long-tailed cormorant, is a bird in the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. It breeds in much of Africa south of the Sahara, and Madagascar. It is resident but undertakes some seasonal movements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neotropic cormorant</span> Species of bird

The neotropic cormorant or olivaceous cormorant is a medium-sized cormorant found throughout the American tropics and subtropics, from the middle Rio Grande and the Gulf and Californian coasts of the United States south through Mexico and Central America to southern South America, where it is called by the indigenous name of biguá. It also breeds in the Bahamas, Cuba, and Trinidad. It can be found both on coasts and in inland waters. There are at least two subspecies: N. b. mexicanum from Nicaragua northwards and N. b. brasilianum further south. In Peru, the neotropic cormorant is used by the Uru people for fishing.

<i>Nannopterum</i> Genus of birds

Nannopterum is a genus of cormorant comprising three species. They are found throughout the Americas, hence the common name American cormorants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-faced cormorant</span> Species of bird

The red-faced cormorant, red-faced shag or violet shag, is a bird species of the family Phalacrocoracidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock shag</span> Species of bird

The rock shag, also known as the Magellanic cormorant, is a marine cormorant found around the southernmost coasts of South America. Its breeding range is from around Valdivia, Chile, south to Cape Horn and Tierra del Fuego, and north to Punta Tombo in Argentina. In winter it is seen further north, with individuals reaching as far as Santiago, Chile on the west coast and Uruguay on the east. The birds also breed around the coasts of the Falkland Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand king shag</span> Species of bird

The New Zealand king shag, also known as the rough-faced shag, king shag or kawau tūī, is a rare bird endemic to New Zealand. Some taxonomic authorities, including the International Ornithologists' Union, place this species in the genus Leucocarbo. Others place it in the genus Phalacrocorax.

<i>Chrysuronia</i> Genus of birds

Chrysuronia is a genus of hummingbirds in the family Trochilidae, all of which are native to Central and South America.

<i>Chalcopsitta</i> Genus of birds

Chalcopsitta is a genus of parrot in the family Psittaculidae and the subfamily Loriinae. All three species are native to New Guinea and western offshore islands. The name Chalcopsitta is derived from the Greek khalkos meaning "bronze" and psitta meaning "parrot".

<i>Gymnopithys</i> Genus of birds

Gymnopithys is a genus of passerine birds in the antbird family, Thamnophilidae.

<i>Melopyrrha</i> Genus of birds

Melopyrrha is a genus of passerine birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is made up of four extant species endemic to the Greater Antilles, along with 1 possibly extinct species from the island of Saint Kitts in the Lesser Antilles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chatham shag</span> Species of bird

The Chatham shag, also known as the Chatham Island shag, is a species of bird in the cormorant and shag family, Phalacrocoracidae. It is endemic to the Chatham Islands of New Zealand. For a long time the species was placed in the genus Phalacrocorax; today it is mostly placed with the other blue-eyed shags of New Zealand and Antarctica in the genus Leucocarbo. Its closest relative is the Otago shag of South Island.

<i>Blythipicus</i> Genus of birds

Blythipicus is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae that are found in Southeast Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey noddy</span> Species of bird

The grey noddy or grey ternlet is a seabird belonging to the family Laridae. It was once regarded as a pale morph of the blue noddy but is now usually considered to be a separate species.

<i>Melaniparus</i> Genus of birds

Melaniparus is a genus of birds in the tit family. The species were formerly placed in the speciose genus Parus but were moved to Melaniparus based on a molecular phylogenetic analysis published in 2013 that showed that the members formed a distinct clade. The genus Melaniparus had originally been introduced by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1850. The type species was subsequently designated as the southern black tit. The name of the genus combines the Ancient Greek melas, melanos "black" and the genus Parus introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.

<i>Microcarbo</i> Genus of birds

Microcarbo is a genus of fish-eating birds, known as cormorants, of the family Phalacrocoracidae. The genus was formerly subsumed within Phalacrocorax.

<i>Yungipicus</i> Genus of birds

Yungipicus is a genus of woodpeckers in the family Picidae native to Asia. The species in this genus were previously placed in the genus Dendrocopos.

<i>Geospizopsis</i> Genus of birds

Geospizopsis is a genus of seed-eating birds in the tanager family Thraupidae that are commonly known as sierra finches.

<i>Urile</i> Genus of birds

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References

  1. 1 2 Nelson, J. Bryan (2006). Pelicans, Cormorants, and Their Relatives: The Pelecaniformes. Oxford University Press, U.S.A. pp. 476–511, Plate 8. ISBN   978-0-19-857727-0.
  2. Bonaparte, Charles Lucien (1856). "Excusion dans les divers Musées d'Allemagne, de Hollande et de Belgique, et tableaux paralléliques de l'ordre des échassiers (suite)". Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences (in French). 43: 571–579 [575].
  3. Sharpe, R.B.; Ogilvie-Grant, W.R. (1898). Catalogue of the Plataleae, Herodiones, Steganopodes, Pygopodes, Alcae and Impennes in the collection of the British Museum. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Vol. 26. London: Trustees of the British Museum. p. 331.
  4. Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 164.
  5. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 223. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  6. Kennedy, M.; Spencer, H.G. (2014). "Classification of the cormorants of the world". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 79: 249–257. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.06.020. PMID   24994028.
  7. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Hamerkop, Shoebill, pelicans, boobies, cormorants". World Bird List Version 9.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 12 April 2019.