Stewart Island shag

Stewart Island shag or Stewart shag was the former name of a species of cormorant that was split into two species as a result of genetic studies.^[1] The two resulting species are:^[2]

• Otago shag, Leucocarbo chalconotus, which is endemic to coastal Otago, New Zealand
• Foveaux shag, Leucocarbo stewarti, which is endemic to Stewart Island/Rakiura and Foveaux Strait in New Zealand

Some authorities, such as BirdLife and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, continue to treat these as a single species.^[3][4]

References

1. Rawlence, Nicolas J.; Scofield, R. Paul; Spencer, Hamish G.; Lalas, Chris; Easton, Luke J.; Tennyson, Alan J.D.; Adams, Mark; Pasquet, Eric; Fraser, Cody; Waters, Jonathan M. & Kennedy, Martyn (2016). "Genetic and morphological evidence for two species of Leucocarbo shag (Aves, Pelecaniformes, Phalacrocoracidae) from southern South Island of New Zealand". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 177 (3): 676–694. doi:10.1111/zoj.12376.
2. "Storks, frigatebirds, boobies, cormorants, darters". International Ornithological Congress. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
3. "Stewart Shag Leucocarbo chalconotus". BirdLife International. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
4. BirdLife International (2018). "Stewart Shag: Phalacrocorax chalconotus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22696853A133556225. Retrieved 29 November 2020.