Nannopterum

Nannopterum is a genus of cormorant comprising three species. They are found throughout the Americas, hence the common name American cormorants.

These species were formerly classified in the genus Phalacrocorax. A molecular phylogenetic study of the cormorants published in 2014 found that these three species formed a clade that was sister to the genus Leucocarbo.<ref name=kennedy2014>Template:Cite journal</ref> To create monophyletic genera, the three species were moved the resurrected genus Nannopterum that had been introduced in 1899 by English ornithologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe to accommodate the flightless cormorant.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=ioc>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The genus Nannopterum is thought to have split from Leucocarbo between 6.7 - 8.0 million years ago.<ref name=kennedy2014/>

The genus name Nannopterum combines the Ancient Greek nannos meaning "dwarf" with pteron meaning "wing".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This name was coined for the flightless cormorant, which does indeed have small wings. Genetic studies have found that the neotropic and double-crested cormorants form a clade with the flightless cormorant, and they are thus placed together in the genus Nannopterum despite both species having normal-sized wings and full flight capabilities.<ref name=ioc/>