Spotted Shag
The spotted shag or pārekareka (''Phalacrocorax punctatus'') is a species of cormorant endemic to New Zealand. Though originally classified as ''Phalacrocorax punctatus'', it is sufficiently different in appearance from typical members of that genus that for a time it was placed in a separate genus, ''Stictocarbo'', along with a similar species, the Pitt shag. Subsequent genetic studies show that the spotted shag's lineage is nested within the typical shags. Taxonomy The spotted shag was initially called the ‘crested shag’ by Johann Forster. He shot the bird while out hunting with the famous James Cook. Swedish naturalist Anders Sparrman was Forster's assistant on this second voyage of James Cook, and he described the spotted shag in 1786 as ''Pelicanus punctatus''. Bonaparte erected the separate genus ''Stictocarbo'' for it in 1855. It was later returned to its original genus. In 1930, the Stewart Island population was described as a separate species, the blue shag ('' ...
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  

Anders Sparrman
Anders Sparrman (27 February 1748, Tensta, Uppland – 9 August 1820) was a Swedish naturalist, abolitionist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Biography left, Miniature of Sparrman at the time of his travels with James Cook. By unknown artist. Sparrman was the son of a clergyman. At the age of nine he enrolled at Uppsala University, beginning medical studies at fourteen and becoming one of the outstanding pupils of Linnaeus. In 1765 he went on a voyage to China as ship's doctor, returning two years later and describing the animals and plants he had encountered. On this voyage he met Carl Gustaf Ekeberg. He sailed for the Cape of Good Hope in January 1772 to take up a post as a tutor. When James Cook arrived there later in the year at the start of his second voyage, Sparrman was taken on as assistant naturalist to Johann and Georg Forster. After the voyage he returned to Cape Town in July 1775 and practiced medicine, earning enough to finance a journey into the interior. He ...
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]