Biziura | |
---|---|
Australian musk duck, Biziura lobata | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Anseriformes |
Family: | Anatidae |
Subfamily: | Anatinae |
Genus: | Biziura Stephens, 1824 |
Species | |
See text |
Biziura is a genus of stiff-tailed ducks endemic to Australasia and containing one living and one subfossil species.
Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
---|---|---|---|
B. lobata Stephens, 1824 | musk duck | Widely distributed through south-eastern Australia, south-west Western Australia and the Murray-Darling Basin | |
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.
The Oxyurini are a tribe of the duck subfamily of birds, the Anatinae. It has been subject of considerable debate about its validity and circumscription. Some taxonomic authorities place the group in its own subfamily, the Oxyurinae. Most of its members have long, stiff tail feathers which are erected when the bird is at rest, and relatively large, swollen bills. Though their relationships are still enigmatic, they appear to be closer to swans and true geese than to the typical ducks. The highest diversity is found in the warmer parts of the Americas, but at least one species occurs in a major part of the world.
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The musk duck is a highly aquatic, stiff-tailed duck native to southern Australia. It is the only living member of the genus Biziura. An extinct relative, the New Zealand musk duck or de Lautour's duck, once occurred on New Zealand, but is only known from prehistoric subfossil bones. It was about 8% longer than the living species, with a particularly large head.
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The New Zealand musk duck, also known as de Lautour's duck, is an extinct stiff-tailed duck native to New Zealand. It is only known from subfossil bones. Its closest relative was the living Australian musk duck Biziura lobata, with which it has sometimes been combined.
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