European shag [SEP] parent taxon
European shag
The European shag or common shag ("Phalacrocorax aristotelis") is a species of cormorant. 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 is Latinised Ancient Greek, from φαλακρός ("phalakros", "bald") and κόραξ ("korax", "raven"). The species name "
Karl W. Kenyon, who collected the type specimen USNM 431164 on 22 February 1959. Some bones from prehistoric middens on Amchitka were also attributed to this taxon. As distinctive cormorants were never seen alive in recent years on Amchitka, it was conjectured by some that Kenyon's shag might have gone extinct in the 1960s–1970s (marine pollution and overfishing would be possible reasons).
However, a subsequent analysis of a larger number of comparison specimens of the pelagic cormorant – mainly from birds that fell victim to the "Exxon Valdez"