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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Kelp Gull

Larus dominicanus M. H. K. Lichtenstein, 1823

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Kelp gull (Larus dominicanus), Hannah Point, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands

Kelp gull (Larus dominicanus), Hannah Point, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands

Godot13 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image source

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Open encyclopedia reference

The kelp gull (Larus dominicanus), also known as the Dominican gull, is a gull that breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate L. d. dominicanus is the subspecies found around South America, parts of Australia (where it overlaps with the Pacific gull), and New Zealand (where it is known as the black-backed gull, the southern black-backed gull, mollyhawk – particularly the juveniles, or by its Māori name karoro). L. d. vetula (known as the Cape gull) is a subspecies occurring around Southern Africa.

The specific name comes from the Dominican Order of friars, who wear black and white habits.

Wikipedia contributors, Kelp gull; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:44:55.722700+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Larus dominicanus M. H. K. Lichtenstein, 1823
Name authority
M. H. K. Lichtenstein, 1823
Common name
Kelp Gull
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Charadriiformes
Family
Laridae
Genus
Larus
Extinction status
Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classAves
  9. orderCharadriiformes
  10. familyLaridae
  11. genusLarus Linnaeus, 1758
  12. speciesLarus dominicanus M. H. K. Lichtenstein, 1823

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Larus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Olrog's GullLarus atlanticus Olrog, 1958LaridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
California GullLarus californicus Lawrence, 1854LaridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Common GullLarus canus Linnaeus, 1758LaridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus Linnaeus, 1758LaridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Glaucous-winged GullLarus glaucescens J. F. Naumann, 1840LaridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Iceland GullLarus glaucoides B. Meyer, 1822LaridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Western GullLarus occidentalis Audubon, 1839LaridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Slaty-backed GullLarus schistisagus Stejneger, 1884LaridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianus Coues, 1862LaridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Vega GullLarus vegae Palmén, 1887LaridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Heermann's GullLarus heermanni Cassin, 1852LaridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Short-billed GullLarus brachyrhynchus Richardson, 1831LaridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant

Browse 76 records assigned to Laridae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Africa

Antarctica/Southern Ocean

Australia

North America

South America

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=176849 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3SBQ5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.