Aythya | |
---|---|
Common pochard (Aythya ferina) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Anseriformes |
Family: | Anatidae |
Tribe: | Aythyini |
Genus: | Aythya F. Boie, 1822 |
Type species | |
Anas marila [1] Linnaeus, 1761 | |
Species | |
12 species, see text |
Aythya is a genus of diving ducks. It has twelve described species. The name Aythya comes from the Ancient Greek word αυθυια (authuia), which may have referred to a sea-dwelling duck or an auklet. [2]
Aythya shihuibas was described from the Late Miocene of China. Zelenkov (2016) transferred the species Anas denesi Kessler (2013), known from the late Miocene of Hungary, to the genus Aythya. [3] An undescribed prehistoric species is known only from Early Pleistocene fossil remains found at Dursunlu, Turkey; [4] it might however be referrable to a paleosubspecies of an extant species considering its age (see also Greater scaup).
The Miocene [ verification needed ]"Aythya" arvernensis is now placed in Mionetta , while "Aythya" chauvirae seems to contain the remains of two species, at least one of which does not seem to be a diving duck. [5]
The genus Aythya was introduced in 1822 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie. The type species is the greater scaup. [6] [7]
The genus contains 12 species. [8]
Male | Female | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution | Conservation status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A. valisineria | Canvasback | North America | least concern | ||
A. ferina | Common pochard | Northern Europe into Asia | vulnerable | ||
A. americana | Redhead | North America, from as far north as Northern Canada to the lower United States | least concern | ||
A. collaris | Ring-necked duck | Northern United States and Canada | least concern | ||
A. australis | Hardhead | Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, and the islands of the Pacific | least concern | ||
A. baeri | Baer's pochard | Southeast Russia and northeast China, migrating in winter to southern China, Vietnam, Japan, and India | critically endangered | ||
A. nyroca | Ferruginous duck | From Iberia and the Maghreb east to western Mongolia, south to Arabia | near threatened | ||
A. innotata | Madagascar pochard | Madagascar | critically endangered | ||
A. novaeseelandiae | New Zealand scaup | New Zealand | least concern | ||
A. fuligula | Tufted duck | Throughout temperate and northern Eurasia; occasional visitor to the United States and Canada | least concern | ||
A. marila | Greater scaup | Alaska, northern Canada, Siberia, and the northernmost reaches of Europe | least concern | ||
A. affinis | Lesser scaup | Alaska through western Canada to western Montana, Central America | least concern | ||
Based on the Taxonomy in Flux from John Boyd's website. [9]
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The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating on the water surface, and in some cases diving in at least shallow water. The family contains around 174 species in 43 genera.
Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae, Anseranatidae, and Anatidae, the largest family, which includes over 170 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans. Most modern species in the order are highly adapted for an aquatic existence at the water surface. With the exception of screamers, males have penises, a trait that has been lost in the Neoaves. Due to their aquatic nature, most species are web-footed.
The stiff-tailed ducks, the genus Oxyura, are part of the Oxyurini tribe of ducks.
The diving ducks, commonly called pochards or scaups, are a category of duck which feed by diving beneath the surface of the water. They are part of Anatidae, the diverse and very large family that includes ducks, geese, and swans.
The northern shoveler, known simply in Britain as the shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and across most of North America, wintering in southern Europe, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. It is a rare vagrant to Australia. In North America, it breeds along the southern edge of Hudson Bay and west of this body of water, and as far south as the Great Lakes west to Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon.
The redhead is a medium-sized diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek aithuia, an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin americana, of America. The redhead is 37 cm (15 in) long with an 84 cm (33 in) wingspan. Redhead weight ranges from 2.0 to 2.5 lbs, with males weighing an average of 2.4 lbs and females weighing an average of 2.1 lbs. It belongs to the genus Aythya, together with 11 other described species. The redhead and the common pochard form a sister group which together is sister to the canvasback.
The common pochard, known simply as pochard in the United Kingdom, is a medium-sized diving duck in the family Anatidae. It is widespread across the Palearctic. It breeds primarily in the steppe regions of Scandinavia and Siberia, and winters further south and west.
The tufted duck is a small diving duck with a population of close to one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. They are partially migratory. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek aithuia, an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin fuligo 'soot' and gula 'throat'. It is a game bird.
The shelducks, most species of which are found in the genus Tadorna, are a group of large birds in the Tadorninae subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as the geese and swans.
The greater scaup, just scaup in Europe or, colloquially, "bluebill" in North America, is a mid-sized diving duck, larger than the closely related lesser scaup. It spends the summer months breeding in Alaska, northern Canada, Siberia, and the northernmost reaches of Europe. During the winter, it migrates south to the coasts of North America, Europe, and Japan.
The lesser scaup is a small North American diving duck that migrates south as far as Central America in winter. It is colloquially known as the little bluebill or broadbill because of its distinctive blue bill. The origin of the name scaup may stem from the bird's preference for feeding on scalp—the Scottish word for clams, oysters, and mussels; however, some credit it to the female's discordant scaup call as the name's source. It is apparently a very close relative of the Holarctic greater scaup or "bluebill", with which it forms a superspecies. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek aithuia an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin, affinis "related to", from its resemblance to the greater scaup.
The ferruginous duck, also known as ferruginous pochard, common white-eye or white-eyed pochard, is a medium-sized diving duck from Eurosiberia. The scientific name is derived from Greek aithuia an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and nyrok, the Russian name for a duck.
The scoters are stocky seaducks in the genus Melanitta. The drakes are mostly black and have swollen bills, the females are brown. They breed in the far north of Europe, Asia, and North America, and winter farther south in temperate zones of those continents. They form large flocks on suitable coastal waters. These are tightly packed, and the birds tend to take off together. Their lined nests are built on the ground close to the sea, lakes or rivers, in woodland or tundra. These species dive for crustaceans and molluscs.
Anas is a genus of dabbling ducks. It includes the pintails, most teals, and the mallard and its close relatives. It formerly included additional species but following the publication of a molecular phylogenetic study in 2009 the genus was split into four separate genera. The genus now contains 31 living species. The name Anas is the Latin for "duck".
Baer's pochard is a diving duck found in eastern Asia. It is a resident bird in North and Central China, and formerly bred in southeast Russia and Northeast China, migrating in winter to southern China, Vietnam, Japan, and India. Baer's pochard is a monotypic species. The holotype was collected in middle Amur.
The New Zealand scaup, also known as the black teal or pāpango in Māori, is a diving duck species of the genus Aythya endemic to New Zealand. They weigh around 650 grams (23 oz) and measure around 40 centimetres (16 in), and have dark-coloured plumage. They are found throughout New Zealand in deep natural and man-made lakes and ponds.
Bucephala is a genus of diving ducks found in the Northern Hemisphere.
Thalasseus, the crested terns, is a genus of eight species of terns in the family Laridae.
Athene is a genus of owls, containing nine living species, depending on classification. These birds are small, with brown and white speckles, yellow eyes, and white eyebrows. This genus is found on all continents except for Australia, Antarctica, and Sub-Saharan Africa. An evolutionary radiation of 4 species is also present in the Solomon Islands.