Phalacrocorax

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Phalacrocorax
Phalacrocorax carbo Vic.jpg
Great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Suliformes
Family: Phalacrocoracidae
Genus: Phalacrocorax
Brisson, 1760
Type species
Pelecanus carbo
Species [1]

12, see text

Synonyms [ citation needed ]
  • Stictocarbo
  • Nanocorax (partim)
  • Anocarbo

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. [2]

Contents

Taxonomy

The genus Phalacrocorax was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) as the type species. [3] [4] Phalacrocorax is the Latin word for a cormorant. [5]

Formerly, many other species of cormorant were classified in Phalacrocorax, but most of these have been split out into different genera. A 2014 study found Phalacrocrax to be the sister genus to Urile , which are thought to have split from each other between 8.9 - 10.3 million years ago. [1]

Current taxonomy

A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the genus Phalacrocorax contains 12 species. [1] This taxonomy was adopted by the IUCN Red List and BirdLife International, and later by the IOC. [6]

Genus Phalacrocorax Brisson, 1760 – twelve species
Common nameScientific name and subspeciesRangeSize and ecologyIUCN status and estimated population
Bank cormorant or Wahlberg's cormorant

Phalacrocoraxneglectus.jpg

Phalacrocorax neglectus
(Wahlberg, 1855)
Namibia and the western seaboard of South Africa
Phalacrocorax neglectus map.svg
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Diet:
 EN 


Socotra cormorant

Socotra Cormorant.jpg

Phalacrocorax nigrogularis
Ogilvie-Grant & Forbes, HO, 1899
Arabian Peninsula.
Sokotramap.jpg
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 VU 


Pitt shag or Featherstone's shag

Phalacrocorax featherstoni 1.jpg

Phalacrocorax featherstoni
Buller, 1873
Pitt Island.
Phalacrocorax featherstoni map.svg
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 EN 


Spotted shag

Spotted shag.NZ (Stictocarbo punctatus) (11415901286).jpg

Phalacrocorax punctatus
(Sparrman, 1786)
New Zealand.Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Black-faced cormorant

Phalacrocorax fuscescens - Derwent River Estuary crop2.jpg

Phalacrocorax fuscescens
(Vieillot, 1817)
Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania
Black-faced Comorant.png
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 LC 


Australian pied cormorant or yellow-faced cormorant

DSC 6990 (9405320049).jpg

Phalacrocorax varius
(Gmelin, 1789)
Australasia, New Zealand
Elsterscharbe.jpg
Size:

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 LC 


Little black cormorant

Little Black Cormorant RWD2.jpg

Phalacrocorax sulcirostris
(Brandt, 1837)
Australia and northern New ZealandSize:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Indian cormorant

Indian cormorant1 bySaptarshiGayen.jpg

Phalacrocorax fuscicollis
(Stephens, 1826)
Indian Subcontinent west to Sind and east to Thailand and Cambodia.
Phalacrocorax fuscicollis map.svg
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 LC 


Cape cormorant

Cape cormorant 2011 07 10 03481.jpg

Phalacrocorax capensis
(Sparrman, 1788)
the Congo, and up the east coast of South Africa as far as Mozambique.
CapeCormorantMap.jpg
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 EN 


Japanese cormorant or Temminck's cormorant

Aogu Wetlands and Forest Part Yi-Cheng, Chen 555593995 - 12.jpg

Phalacrocorax capillatus
(Temminck & Schlegel, 1850)
Taiwan, north through Korea and Japan, to the Russian Far East.
Phalacrocorax capillatus distribution.png
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 LC 


White-breasted cormorant

White-breasted cormorant (Phalacrocorax lucidus).jpg

Phalacrocorax lucidus
(Lichtenstein, MHC, 1823)
the Cape Verde Islands to Guinea-Bissau and from Angola to the Cape of Good Hope and northwards on the east coast to Mozambique.
Phalacrocorax lucidus map.svg
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Great cormorant or black shag

Phalacrocorax carbo 174108054.jpg

Phalacrocorax carbo
(Linnaeus, 1758)
the Old World, Australia, New Zealand and the Atlantic coast of North America.
PhalacrocoraxCarbo.png
Size:

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 


Alternative taxonomies

Formerly, the genus Phalacrocorax often included all members of the family Phalacrocoracidae. More recently, some authorities, such as the Clements checklist, recognized Microcarbo as distinct (due to its morphological distinctiveness and the old age of its split from the remaining cormorants), while retaining all other cormorants in a still-broad Phalacrocorax. The IOC checklist went a step further in recognizing Leucocarbo as well as Microcarbo as distinct (while retaining the rest in Phalacrocorax), but this treatment rendered Phalacrocorax paraphyletic (with some members much more closely related to Leucocarbo than others). Nowadays, due to the age of the splits between different cormorant clades, most authorities, including the aforementioned two checklists, now recognize seven cormorant genera: Microcarbo , Poikilocarbo , Phalacrocorax , Urile , Gulosus , Nannopterum , and Leucocarbo . [1]

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>Pica</i> (genus) Genus of birds

Pica is a genus of seven species of birds in the family Corvidae in both the New World and the Old. It is one of several corvid genera whose members are known as magpies.

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

The pelagic cormorant, also known as Baird's cormorant or violet-green cormorant, is a small member of the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. Analogous to other smallish cormorants, it is also called the pelagic shag occasionally. This seabird lives along the coasts of the northern Pacific; during winter it can also be found in the open ocean. Pelagic cormorants have relatively short wings due to their need for economical movement underwater, and consequently have the highest flight costs of any bird.

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

The European shag or common shag is a species of cormorant. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Gulosus. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern Europe, southwest Asia and north Africa, mainly wintering in its breeding range except for the northernmost birds. In Britain this seabird is usually referred to as simply the shag. The scientific genus name derives from the Latin for glutton. The species name aristotelis commemorates the Greek philosopher Aristotle.

<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">Little black cormorant</span> Species of bird

The little black cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It is common in smaller rivers and lakes throughout most areas of Australia and northern New Zealand, where it is known as the little black shag. It is around sixty centimetres long, and is all black with blue-green eyes.

<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.

<i>Tangara</i> (bird) Genus of birds

Tangara is a large genus of birds of the tanager family. It includes 27 species. All are from the Neotropics, and while most are fairly widespread, some have small distributions and are threatened. They are fairly small, ranging in size from 11.5–15 centimetres (4.5–5.9 in). This genus includes some of the most spectacularly colored birds of the world.

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

The black-faced cormorant, also known as the black-faced shag, is a medium-sized member of the cormorant family. Upperparts, including facial skin and bill, are black, with white underparts. It is endemic to coastal regions of southern Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow canary</span> Species of bird

The yellow canary is a small passerine bird in the true finch family. It is a resident breeder in much of the western and central regions of southern Africa and has been introduced to Ascension and St Helena islands.

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

The imperial shag or imperial cormorant is a black and white cormorant native to southern South America, primarily in rocky coastal regions, but locally also at large inland lakes. Some taxonomic authorities, including the International Ornithologists' Union, place it in the genus Leucocarbo, others in the genus Phalacrocorax. It is also known as the blue-eyed shag, blue-eyed cormorant and by many other names, and is one of a larger group of cormorants called blue-eyed shags. The taxonomy is very complex, and several former subspecies are often considered separate species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-eyed shag</span> Genus of birds

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 ; other shared features are white underparts and pink feet.

<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">Flame-crested tanager</span> Species of bird

The flame-crested tanager is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. Ten subspecies are currently recognized.

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

The red-legged cormorant, also known as the red-legged shag, red-footed cormorant, red-footed shag, Gaimard's cormorant and grey cormorant, is a species of cormorant resident to the coastline of South America. It is the only member of the genus Poikilocarbo. It is non-colonial unlike most seabirds. The red-legged cormorant has not been observed wing-spreading, which is unusual among cormorant species.

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

The Chatham Islands shag, also known as the Chatham 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>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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suliformes</span> Order of birds

The order Suliformes is an order of birds recognised by the International Ornithologist's Union. Regarding the recent evidence that the traditional Pelecaniformes is polyphyletic, it has been suggested that the group be divided to reflect the true evolutionary relationships; a 2017 study indicated that they are most closely related to Otidiformes (bustards) and Ciconiiformes (storks).

<i>Urile</i> Genus of birds

Urile is a genus of birds in the family Phalacrocoracidae, commonly known as North Pacific cormorants. It contains 3 extant and 1 recently extinct species, all of which are or were found in the North Pacific Ocean.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kennedy, M.; Spencer, H.G. (2014). "Classification of the cormorants of the world". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 79: 249–257. Bibcode:2014MolPE..79..249K. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.06.020. PMID   24994028.
  2. "Old World Cormorants (Genus Phalacrocorax)". iNaturalist NZ. Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  3. Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés (in French and Latin). Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. Vol. 1, p. 60, Vol. 6, p. 511.
  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. 163.
  5. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 301. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  6. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2022). "Storks, frigatebirds, boobies, darters, cormorants". IOC World Bird List Version 12.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2022.