NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Imperial Shag
Leucocarbo atriceps (P. P. King, 1828)
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.
Imperial Shags in the Beagle Channel, southern Argentina
Phalacrocorax_atriceps.jpg: Calyponte derivative work: Berichard (talk) · CC BY 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The imperial shag or imperial cormorant (Leucocarbo atriceps) is a black-and-white cormorant native to southern South America, islands of the Subantarctic, and the Antarctic Peninsula, primarily in rocky coastal regions, but locally also at large inland lakes. Some taxonomic authorities, including the International Ornithologists' Union, place it in the genus Leucocarbo, others in the genus Phalacrocorax. It is also known as the blue-eyed shag, blue-eyed cormorant and by many other names, and is one of a larger group of cormorants called blue-eyed shags. The taxonomy is complex, and several types are treated as either subspecies or separate species.
Wikipedia contributors, Imperial shag; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:27:03.867897+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Leucocarbo atriceps (P. P. King, 1828)
- Name authority
- (P. P. King, 1828)
- Common name
- Imperial 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 atriceps (P. P. King, 1828)
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 |
| Heard Island ShagLeucocarbo nivalis (Falla, 1937) | PhalacrocoracidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Campbell ShagLeucocarbo campbelli (Filhol, 1878) | PhalacrocoracidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Auckland ShagLeucocarbo colensoi (Buller, 1888) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Phalacrocorax atriceps P. P. King, 1828 P. P. King, 1828 | synonym |
| Phalacrocorax atriceps atriceps P. P. King, 1828 P. P. King, 1828 | 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=824003 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:725KJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.