Microcarbo
Encyclopedia
Microcarbo is a genus of fish-eating bird
s, known as cormorant
s, of the family Phalacrocoracidae. Until recently, this genus was often subsumed within Phalacrocorax.
Microcarbo has been recognized as a valid genus by the IOC’s
World Bird List (Gill and Donsker 2010) on the basis of work by Siegel-Causey (1988), Kennedy et al. (2000), and Christidis and Boles (2008).
As suggested by the name, this genus contains the smallest of the world's cormorants. Five species are currently recognized.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, known as cormorant
Cormorant
The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...
s, of the family Phalacrocoracidae. Until recently, this genus was often subsumed within Phalacrocorax.
Microcarbo has been recognized as a valid genus by the IOC’s
International Ornithological Congress
The International Ornithological Congress series forms the oldest and largest international series of meetings of ornithologists. It is organised by the International Ornithological Committee, a group of about 200 ornithologists...
World Bird List (Gill and Donsker 2010) on the basis of work by Siegel-Causey (1988), Kennedy et al. (2000), and Christidis and Boles (2008).
As suggested by the name, this genus contains the smallest of the world's cormorants. Five species are currently recognized.
List of Species
- Crowned CormorantCrowned CormorantThe Crowned Cormorant, Microcarbo coronatus, is a small cormorant that is endemic to the waters of the cold Benguela Current of southern Africa. It is an exclusively coastal species and is always found at least 10 km away from land...
, Microcarbo coronatus - Little CormorantLittle CormorantThe Little Cormorant is a member of the Cormorant family of seabirds: Aptly named, the Little Cormorant is small in comparison with other cormorants, only 55 cm in length with an average mass of 442.5 g...
, Microcarbo niger - Little Pied CormorantLittle Pied CormorantThe Little Pied Cormorant, Little Shag or Kawaupaka is a common Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the sub-Antarctic...
, Microcarbo melanoleucos - Pygmy CormorantPygmy CormorantThe Pygmy Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It breeds in southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia. It is partially migratory, with northern populations wintering further south, mostly within in its breeding range...
, Microcarbo pygmeus - Reed Cormorant, Microcarbo africanus
Sources
- Christidis, L., and W. E. Boles. 2008. Systematics and taxonomy of Australian birds. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia.
- Gill, F., and D. Donsker (eds.). 2010. IOC World Bird Names (Version 2.4). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/ (Accessed 12 May 2010).
- Kennedy, M., R. D. Gray, and H. G. Spencer. 2000. The phylogenetic relationships of the shags and cormorants: can sequence data resolve a disagreement between behavior and morphology? Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 17: 345-359.
- Siegel-Causey, D. 1988. Phylogeny of the Phalacrocoracidae. Condor 90: 885-905. Available at http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Condor/files/issues/v090n04/p0885-p0905.pdf (Accessed 13 May 2010).