Steamer duck

Last updated

Steamer ducks
Tachyeres brachypterus.jpg
Falkland steamer duck, Tachyeres brachypterus
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Subfamily: Tadorninae
Genus: Tachyeres
Owen, 1875
Type species
Anas brachyptera
Latham, 1790
Species

Tachyeres patachonicus
Tachyeres pteneres
Tachyeres brachypterus
Tachyeres leucocephalus

Contents

Synonyms
  • MicropterusLesson 1828 non Lacépède 1802
  • MicroaStrand 1943 [1]

The steamer ducks are a genus (Tachyeres) of ducks in the family Anatidae. All of the four species occur at the southern cone of South America in Chile and Argentina, and all except the flying steamer duck are flightless; even this one species capable of flight rarely takes to the air. [2] [3] [4] They can be aggressive and are capable of chasing off predators like petrels. Bloody battles of steamer ducks with each other over territory disputes are observed in nature. They even kill waterbirds that are several times their size. [5]

Taxonomy

The genus Tachyeres was introduced in 1875 by the English zoologist Richard Owen to accommodate the Falkland steamer duck. [6] The genus name Tachyeres, "having fast oars" or "fast rower", comes from Ancient Greek ταχυ- "fast" + ἐρέσσω "I row (as with oars)". [7] The common name "steamer ducks" arose because, when swimming fast, they flap their wings into the water as well as using their feet, creating an effect like a paddle steamer. [8]

They are usually placed in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae. However, mtDNA sequence analyses of the cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 genes indicate that Tachyeres rather belongs in a distinct clade of aberrant South American dabbling ducks, which also includes the Brazilian, the crested, and the bronze-winged ducks. [9]

Extant species

There are four species: [2] [4]

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Flying Steamer Duck (Tachyeres patachonicus) (1).jpg Tachyeres patachonicus Flying steamer duck southern Chile and Argentina, Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands.
Tachyeres.pteneres.lateral.jpg Tachyeres pteneres Fuegian steamer duck southern Chile and Chiloé to Tierra del Fuego
White-headed Flightless Steamer Duck (Tachyeres leucocephalus).PNG Tachyeres leucocephalus Chubut steamer duck Argentina
Tachyeres brachypterus.jpg Tachyeres brachypterus Falkland steamer duck the Falkland Islands in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

The Chubut steamer duck was only described in 1981. [2]

Phylogeny

Based on the Taxonomy in Flux from John Boyd's website. [10]

Tachyeres
 

T. brachypterus (Latham 1790) (Falkland steamer duck)

 
 
 

T. pteneres (Forster 1844) (Fuegian steamer duck)

 
 
 

T. patachonicus (King 1831) (Flying steamer duck)

 
 

T. leucocephalus Humphrey & Thompson 1981 (Chubut steamer duck)

 
 
 
 

Evolution

Flightlessness

Flightless Tachyeres have a paraphyletic organization, as shown above. There are multiple possible explanations of these organizations. It is unlikely that flightlessness evolved once in all Tachyeres and then disappeared in T. patachonicus, because there is no evidence for a reversal of evolution, and these reversals are extremely rare. [3] It is more likely that flightlessness evolved independently in each steamer duck species. [3] The DYRK1A enzyme has been identified as a candidate gene for flightlessness in steamer ducks. [3] This finding, combined with the range of flight capability, means the evolutionary history of the group may not be so clear cut.

There is genomic evidence of recent speciation into four Tachyeres species. Flightless Tachyeres are thought to be undergoing a modern evolutionary transition to flightlessness, which explains the range of flight capability observed across the genus. [3] The largest males of the most volant species, the flying steamer duck, are completely incapable of flight, while other individuals rarely fly. [3] The flying steamer duck is the only species to reside in landlocked bodies of water. [11] [ circular reference ] Generally, island bound/isolated avian populations are more likely to experience evolution towards flightlessness, which may be the case for several Tachyeres populations in the coastal South American regions. [12]

Related Research Articles

Duck Common name for many species of bird

Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form taxon; they do not represent a monophyletic group, since swans and geese are not considered ducks. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water.

Anatidae Biological family of water birds

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 Order of water birds

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.

Diving duck Tribe of birds

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.

Anatinae Subfamily of birds

The Anatinae are a subfamily of the family Anatidae. Its surviving members are the dabbling ducks, which feed mainly at the surface rather than by diving. The other members of the Anatinae are the extinct moa-nalo, a young but highly apomorphic lineage derived from the dabbling ducks.

Tadorninae Subfamily of birds

The Tadorninae is the shelduck-sheldgoose subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as the geese and swans.

Gadwall Species of bird

The gadwall is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae.

The perching ducks were previously treated as a small group of ducks in the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae, grouped together on the basis of their readiness to perch high in trees. It has been subsequently shown that the grouping is paraphyletic and their apparent similarity results from convergent evolution, with the different members more closely related to various other ducks than to each other.

<i>Anas</i> Genus of birds

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".

Black-headed duck Species of bird

The black-headed duck is a South American duck allied to the stiff-tailed ducks in the tribe Oxyurini of the family Anatidae. It is the only member of the genus Heteronetta.

<i>Netta</i> Genus of birds

Netta is a genus of diving ducks. The name is derived from Greek Netta "duck". Unlike other diving ducks, the Netta species are reluctant to dive, and feed more like dabbling ducks.

Flightless bird Birds that lost the ability to fly

Flightless birds are birds that through evolution lost the ability to fly. There are over 60 extant species, including the well known ratites and penguins. The smallest flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island rail. The largest flightless bird, which is also the largest living bird, is the ostrich.

Flying steamer duck Species of bird

The flying steamer duck, also known as the flying steamer-duck or flying steamerduck, is a species of South American duck in the family Anatidae.

Chubut steamer duck Species of bird

The Chubut steamer duck or white-headed flightless steamer duck is a flightless duck endemic to Argentina.

Falkland steamer duck Species of bird

The Falkland steamer duck is a species of flightless duck found on the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. The steamer ducks get their name from their unconventional swimming behaviour in which they flap their wings and feet on the water in a motion reminiscent of an old paddle steamer. Interestingly, the Falkland steamer duck is one of only two bird species endemic to the Falkland Islands, the other being Cobb's wren.

Brazilian teal Species of bird

The Brazilian teal or Brazilian duck is the only duck in the genus Amazonetta.

African black duck Species of bird

The African black duck is a species of duck of the genus Anas. It is genetically closest to the mallard group, but shows some peculiarities in its behavior and plumage; it is accordingly placed in the subgenus Melananas pending further research.

Bronze-winged duck Species of bird

The bronze-winged duck also known as the spectacled duck, is a dabbling duck and the sole member of its genus Speculanas. It is often placed in Anas with most other dabbling ducks, but its closest relative is either the crested duck or the Brazilian duck, which likewise form monotypic genera. Together they belong to a South American lineage which diverged early from the other dabbling ducks and may include the steamer ducks.

Bradley Curtis Livezey was an American ornithologist with scores of publications. His main research included the evolution of flightless birds, the systematics of birds, and the ecology and behaviour of steamer ducks.

Philip Strong Humphrey was an ornithologist, museum curator, and professor of zoology.

References

  1. ↑ "Part 7- Vertebrates". Collection of genus-group names in a systematic arrangement. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Livezey, Bradley C.; Humphrey, Philip Strong (1992). Taxonomy and Identification of Steamer-Ducks (Anatidae: Tachyeres). Monograph of the Museum of Natural History, the University of Kansas. No. 8. Lawrence, Kansas: Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas. ISBN   0893380423.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Campagna, Leonardo; McCracken, Kevin G.; Lovette, Irby J. (September 2019). "Gradual evolution towards flightlessness in steamer ducks*". Evolution. 73 (9): 1916–1926. doi: 10.1111/evo.13758 . ISSN   0014-3820. PMID   31106403.
  4. 1 2 Livezey, Bradley (1986). "Flightlessness in steamer-ducks (Anatidae: tachyeres): its morphological bases and probable evolution". Evolution. 40 (3): 540–558. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1986.tb00506.x . PMID   28556327.
  5. ↑ "8 Birds That Can't Fly".
  6. ↑ Owen, Richard (1875). "On Dinornis (Part XX.) : containing a restoration of the skeleton of Cnemiornis calcitrans, Ow., with remarks on its affinities in the Lamellirostral group". Transactions of the Zoological Society of London. 9: 253-272 [254 Note 2].
  7. ↑ Kear, J., ed. (2005). Ducks, Geese and Swans. I. Oxford University Press. p. 378. ISBN   0198610084.
  8. ↑ Moynihan, M. (April 1958). "Notes on the Behavior of the Flying Steamer Duck" (PDF). The Auk . 75 (2): 183–202. doi:10.2307/4081889. JSTOR   4081889.
  9. ↑ Johnson, Kevin P.; Sorenson, Michael D. (1999). "Phylogeny and biogeography of dabbling ducks (genus Anas): a comparison of molecular and morphological evidence" (PDF). Auk . 116 (3): 792–805. doi:10.2307/4089339. JSTOR   4089339.
  10. ↑ Boyd, John (2007). "Anatini" (PDF). Taxonomy in Flux . Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  11. ↑ "Flying steamer duck". Wikipedia.
  12. ↑ Wright, Natalie (2016). "Predictable evolution toward flightlessness in volant island birds" (PDF). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


This duck article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.