'' Microcarbo serventyorum'', also referred to as Serventys' cormorant, is an extinct

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of small

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...

from the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

of Australia. It was described by

Gerard Frederick van Tets Gerard Frederick van Tets (19 January 1929 – 14 January 1995), otherwise known as Jerry van Tets, was a twentieth century British, Canadian and Australian ornithologist and palaeontologist. Born to Dutch parents, jhr. Hendrik Barthout van ...

from

subfossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

skeletal material (a pelvis with proximal parts of the

femora The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with t ...

and some

caudal vertebrae The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic ...

) found in 1970 in a

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

swamp at

Bullsbrook, Western Australia Bullsbrook (formerly Bullsbrook East) is a northern suburb of Perth, Western Australia in the outer metropolitan area. It is located in the City of Swan. The original Bullsbrook townsite is located slightly west of the current town, on the 17&nb ...

. The pelvic features indicate that the bird was adept at foraging in confined wetlands such as swamps with dense vegetation, small pools and narrow streams. The specific epithet honours the brothers

Dominic Dominic is a name common among Roman Catholics and other Latin-Romans as a male given name. Originally from the late Roman-Italic name "Dominicus", its translation means "Lordly", "Belonging to God" or "of the Master". Variations include: Domini ...

and

Vincent Serventy Vincent Noel Serventy Order of Australia, AM (6 January 1916 – 8 September 2007) was an Australian author, ornithologist and Conservation movement, conservationist. Life and career Born in Armadale, Western Australia, the youngest of eig ...

for their contributions to knowledge of Australian cormorants.

References

serventyorum Endemic birds of Western Australia Holocene extinctions Extinct birds of Australia Birds described in 1994 Fossil taxa described in 1994 {{Paleo-bird-stub