NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Heard Island Shag
Leucocarbo nivalis (Falla, 1937)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Heard Island shag (Leucocarbo nivalis), or Heard Island cormorant, is a marine cormorant native to the Australian territory comprising the Heard and McDonald Islands in the Southern Ocean, which is about 4,100 km south-west of Perth, Western Australia.
Wikipedia contributors, Heard Island shag; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:09:14.688688+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Leucocarbo nivalis (Falla, 1937)
- Name authority
- (Falla, 1937)
- Common name
- Heard Island Shag
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Suliformes
- Family
- Phalacrocoracidae
- Genus
- Leucocarbo
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderSuliformes
- familyPhalacrocoracidae Reichenbach, 1849
- genusLeucocarbo Bonaparte, 1856
- speciesLeucocarbo nivalis (Falla, 1937)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Leucocarbo. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Kerguelen ShagLeucocarbo verrucosus (Cabanis, 1875) | PhalacrocoracidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| South Georgia ShagLeucocarbo georgianus (Lönnberg, 1906) | PhalacrocoracidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Crozet ShagLeucocarbo melanogenis (Blyth, 1860) | PhalacrocoracidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Stewart Island ShagLeucocarbo chalconotus (G. R. Gray, 1845) | PhalacrocoracidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Campbell ShagLeucocarbo campbelli (Filhol, 1878) | PhalacrocoracidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Auckland ShagLeucocarbo colensoi (Buller, 1888) | PhalacrocoracidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Imperial ShagLeucocarbo atriceps (P. P. King, 1828) | PhalacrocoracidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Guanay CormorantLeucocarbo bougainvilliorum (R. P. Lesson, 1837) | PhalacrocoracidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Leucocarbo atriceps nivalis (Falla, 1937) (Falla, 1937) | synonym |
| Phalacrocorax atriceps nivalis Falla, 1937 Falla, 1937 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=824176 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:725KF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.