Anseriformes is an order of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of 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 the appropriate s ...

of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers),

Anseranatidae Anseranatidae, the magpie-geese, is a biological family of waterbirds. The only living species, the magpie goose, is a resident breeder in northern Australia and in southern New Guinea. Systematics and evolution This family is placed in the o ...

(the magpie goose), and

Anatidae 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 ...

, the largest family, which includes over 170 species of waterfowl, among them the

duck 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 ...

geese A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the she ...

, 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 penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males do n ...

, a trait that has been lost in the

Neoaves Neoaves is a clade that consists of all modern birds (Neornithes or Aves) with the exception of Paleognathae (ratites and kin) and Galloanserae (ducks, chickens and kin). Almost 95% of the roughly 10,000 known species of extant birds belong to ...

. Due to their aquatic nature, most species are web-footed.

Evolution

Anseriformes are one of only two types of modern bird to be confirmed present during the

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ...

alongside the other dinosaurs, and in fact were among the very few birds to survive their extinction, along with their cousins the

galliformes Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are ofte ...

. These two groups only occupied two ecological niches during the Mesozoic, living in water and on the ground, while the toothed enantiornithes were the dominant birds that ruled the trees and air. The asteroid that ended the Mesozoic destroyed all trees as well as animals in the open, a condition that took centuries to recover from. The anseriformes and galliformes are thought to have survived in the cover of burrows and water, and not to have needed trees for food and reproduction. The earliest

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

anseriform found so far is ''

Vegavis ''Vegavis'' is a genus of extinct bird that lived during the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian stage) of Antarctica, some 68 to 66 mya. Among modern birds, most studies show that ''Vegavis'' is most closely related to ducks and geese (Anatidae), b ...

'', a goose-like waterfowl thought to have lived as long as 66 million years ago. Some members apparently surviving the KT extinction event, including

presbyornithid Presbyornithidae is an extinct group of birds with a global distribution. They had evolved by the late Cretaceous period and became extinct during the early Miocene. Initially, they were believed to present a mix of characters shown by waterbirds ...

s, thought to be the common ancestors of ducks, geese, swans, and screamers, the last group once thought to be galliformes, but now genetically confirmed to be closely related to geese. The first known duck fossils start to appear about 34 million years ago. Waterfowl are the best-known examples of sexually antagonistic genital coevolution in vertebrates, causing genital adaptations to coevolve in each sex to advance control over mating and fertilization. Sexually antagonistic coevolution (or SAC) occurs as a consequence of sexual conflict between males and females, resulting in coevolutionary process that reduce fit, or that functions to decrease ease of having sex.

Taxonomy

The Anseriformes and the

Galliformes Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are ofte ...

(

pheasants Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Eurasia ...

, etc.) belong to a common group, the Galloanserae. They are the most primitive

neognathous Neognathae (; ) is a infraclass of birds, called neognaths, within the class Aves of the clade Archosauria. Neognathae includes the majority of living birds; the exceptions being the tinamous and the flightless ratites, which belong instead to t ...

birds, and as such they should follow the

palaeognathae Palaeognathae (; ) is a infraclass of birds, called paleognaths, within the class Aves of the clade Archosauria. It is one of the two extant infraclasses of birds, the other being Neognathae, both of which form Neornithes. Palaeognathae contai ...

( ratites and

tinamou Tinamous () form an order of birds called Tinamiformes (), comprising a single family called Tinamidae (), divided into two distinct subfamilies, containing 46 species found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. The word "tinamou" come ...

s) in bird classification systems. Several unusual extinct families of birds like the albatross-like pseudotooth birds and the giant flightless gastornithids and mihirungs have been found to be stem-anseriforms based on common features found in the skull region, beak physiology and pelvic region. The genus ''

'' for a while was found to be the earliest member of the anseriform crown group but a recent 2017 paper has found it to be just outside the crown group in the family

Vegaviidae Vegaviidae is an extinct family of ornithurines, often regarded as stem- anseriforms, which existed during the Late Cretaceous and possibly the Paleocene. Fossils attributed to the family have been found in Canada, Chile, New Zealand, and Antarc ...

. Below is the general consensus of the phylogeny of anseriforms and their stem relatives.

Systematics

systematics, especially regarding placement of some "odd" genera in the dabbling ducks or shelducks, is not fully resolved. See the Anatidae article for more information, and for alternate taxonomic approaches. Anatidae is traditionally divided into subfamilies Anatinae and Anserinae. The Anatinae consists of tribes

Anatini The Anatinae are a subfamily of the family Anatidae ( swans, geese and ducks). 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 yo ...

Aythyini 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 diving d ...

Mergini The sea ducks (''Mergini'') are a tribe of the duck subfamily of birds, the Anatinae. The taxonomy of this group is incomplete. Some authorities separate the group as a subfamily, while others remove some genera. Most species within the group sp ...

and Tadornini. The higher-order classification below follows a

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analysis performed by Mikko's Phylogeny ArchiveMikko's Phylogeny Archiv

Paleofile.com (net, info) . and John Boyd's website.John Boyd's websit

* Order Anseriformes ** ?†'' Conflicto antarcticus, Conflicto'' Claudia P. Tambussi et al. 2019 ** †'' Naranbulagornis'' Zelenkov 2019 ** Suborder Anhimae Wetmore & Miller 1926 *** Genus †'' Chaunoides'' de Alvarenga 1999 *** Family Anhimidae Stejneger 1885 (screamers) **** Genus ''

Anhima The horned screamer (''Anhima cornuta'') is a member of a small family of birds, the Anhimidae, which occurs in wetlands of tropical South America. There are three screamer species, the other two being the southern screamer and the northern scr ...

'' (Linnaeus 1766) Brisson 1760 (horned screamer) **** Genus ''

Chauna ''Chauna'' is a genus of birds in the screamer family. Its two members are found in wetlands of South America. Description They are large, bulky birds, with a small downy head, long legs and large feet which are only partially webbed. They have ...

'' Illiger 1811 ** Suborder Anseres (true Anseriformes) *** Superfamily Anseranatoidea **** Family

Sclater 1880 ***** Genus †'' Anserpica'' Mourer-Chauviré, Berthet & Hugueney 2004 ***** Genus †''

Eoanseranas '' Eoanseranas handae'', also sometimes referred to as Hand's dawn magpie goose, is an extinct genus and species of bird. Allied to the family Anseranatidae, which are represented by modern magpie geese, it existed during the Late Oligocene or Ea ...

'' Worthy & Scanlon 2009 (hand's dawn magpie goose) ***** Genus †''

Anatalavis ''Anatalavis'' is genus of prehistoric birds related to ducks and geese, perhaps in particular the magpie-goose. The species ''Anatalavis rex'' – formerly placed in ''Telmatornis'' – is known from the Hornerstown Formation (Late Cretaceous o ...

'' Olson & Parris 1987 (Late Cretaceous/Early Paleocene – Early Eocene) ***** Genus '' Anseranas'' (Latham 1798) Lesson 1828 (magpie goose) *** Superfamily Anatoidea **** Family †

Presbyornithidae Presbyornithidae is an extinct group of birds with a global distribution. They had evolved by the late Cretaceous period and became extinct during the early Miocene. Initially, they were believed to present a mix of characters shown by waterbirds ...

Wetmore 1926 (wading-"geese") ***** Genus †''

Teviornis ''Teviornis'' is a genus of extinct birds. One species has been described, ''T. gobiensis''. It lived in the Maastrichtian stage at the end of the Late Cretaceous period, some 70 million years ago. It is known from fossils collected from the Nem ...

'' Kuročkin, Dyke & Karhu 2002 ***** Genus †'' Telmabates'' Howard 1955 ***** Genus †'' Headonornis'' (Lydekker 1891) Harrison & Walker 1976 ***** Genus †'' Presbyornis'' Wetmore 1926 ***** Genus †''

Wilaru ''Wilaru'' is an extinct genus of bird of uncertain phylogenetic placement from the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene of Australia. It was originally classified as a stone-curlew, but subsequently it was argued to be a member of the extinct famil ...

'' Boles et al. 2013 **** Family † Paranyrocidae Miller & Compton 1939 ***** Genus †'' Paranyroca'' Miller & Compton 1939 (Rosebud Early Miocene of Bennett County, USA) Vogels door Jan van Oort (12)

**** Family

Leach 1820 (almost 150 species) ***** Subfamily † Romainvilliinae Lambrecht 1933 ****** Genus †'' Romainvillia'' Lebedinský 1927 (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene) ****** Genus †'' Saintandrea'' Mayr & De Pietri 2013 ***** Subfamily Dendrocygninae Reichenbach 1849–50 ****** Genus '' Dendrocygna'' Swainson 1837 (whistling ducks) ****** Genus ''

Thalassornis The white-backed duck (''Thalassornis leuconotus'') is a waterbird of the family Anatidae. It is distinct from all other ducks, but most closely related to the whistling ducks in the subfamily Dendrocygninae, though also showing some similarities ...

'' Eyton 1838 (white-backed duck) ***** Subfamily † Dendrocheninae Livezey & Martin 1988 ****** Genus †'' Dendrochen'' Miller 1944 ****** Genus †'' Manuherikia'' Worthy et al. 2007 ****** Genus †'' Mionetta'' Livezey & Martin 1988 ***** Subfamily Stictonettinae ****** Genus '' Stictonetta'' (Gould 1841) Reichenbach 1853 (freckled duck) ***** Subfamily

Anserinae The Anserinae are a subfamily in the waterfowl family Anatidae. It includes the swans and true geese. Under alternative systematical concepts (see e.g., Terres & NAS, 1991), it is split into two subfamilies, the Anserinae contain the geese a ...

Vigors 1825 sensu Livezey 1996 (swans and geese) ****** Genus †'' Anserobranta'' Kuročkin & Ganya 1972 ****** Genus †'' Asiavis'' Nesov 1986 ****** Genus †'' “Chenopis”'' De Vis 1905 ****** Genus †'' Cygnavus'' Lambrecht 1931 ****** Genus †'' Cygnopterus'' Lambrecht 1931 ****** Genus †'' Eremochen'' Brodkorb 1961 ****** Genus †'' Megalodytes'' Howard 1992 ****** Genus †'' Paracygnus'' Short 1969 ****** Genus †'' Presbychen'' Wetmore 1930 ****** Genus †''

Cnemiornis The New Zealand goose is the common name given to the extinct genus ''Cnemiornis'' of the family Anatidae, subfamily Anserinae. The genus, endemic to New Zealand, consisted of two species: the North Island goose, ''C. gracilis'' and the ...

'' Owen 1866 (New Zealand geese) ****** Genus †''

Afrocygnus ''Afrocygnus'' is an extinct genus of swan, which lived during the Late Miocene, and perhaps up to the Late Pliocene, in what is today North Africa. The only genus of swan known in Africa, aside from fragmentary Pleistocene remains found in East ...

'' Louchart et al. 2005 ****** Genus ''

Coscoroba The coscoroba swan (''Coscoroba coscoroba'') is a species of waterfowl in subfamily Anserinae of the family Anatidae.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the bi ...

'' (Molina 1782) Reichenbach 1853 (Coscoroba swan) ****** Genus ''

Cereopsis The Cape Barren goose (''Cereopsis novaehollandiae'') is a large goose resident in southern Australia. Etymology The species' common name is derived from Cape Barren Island, where specimens were first sighted by European explorers. It is known ...

'' Latham 1801 (Cape Barren goose) ****** Genus '' Cygnus'' Garsault 1764 ****** Genus '' Branta'' Scopoli 1769 ****** Tribe Anserini Vigors 1825 ******* Genus ''

Anser Anser may refer to: People * Anser (poet), poet of ancient Rome * Anser Farooq, Canadian lawyer Other uses * ANSER, a security and defense analysis group * ''Anser'' (bird), a genus of geese * Anser (putter), a model of golf club made by Pi ...

'' Brisson 1760 ***** Subfamily

Tadorninae 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. This group is largely tropical or Southern Hemisphere in distribution, w ...

Reichenbach 1849–50 (shelducks and sheldgeese) ****** Genus †''

Australotadorna '' Australotadorna alecwilsoni'' is an extinct genus and species of bird, in the Tadorninae, shelduck subfamily of the Anatidae, duck family, from the Chattian, Late Oligocene of central Australia. The genus name comes from the Latin ''australis ...

'' Worthy 2009 ****** Genus †'' Brantadorna'' Howard 1964 ****** Genus †''

Centrornis The Malagasy sheldgoose (''Centrornis majori'') is an extinct monotypic species of large goose in the shelduck subfamily. It was described from subfossil remains radiocarbon dated to about 17,000 years ago, found in central Madagascar M ...

'' Andrews 1897 (Malagasy sheldgoose) ****** Genus †''

Miotadorna ''Miotadorna'' is a genus of extinction, extinct Tadorninae, tadornine ducks from the Miocene of New Zealand. It contains two species, ''M. sanctibathansi'', and ''M. catrionae'' (Catriona's shelduck). ''M. sanctibathansi'' ''M. sanctibathansi'' ...

'' Worthy et al. 2007 (St. Bathans shelduck) ****** Genus †'' Nannonetta'' Campbell 1979 ****** Genus †'' Pleistoanser'' Agnolín 2006 ****** Genus '' Plectropterus'' (Linnaeus 1766) (spur-winged goose) ****** Genus ''

Merganetta The torrent duck (''Merganetta armata'') is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Merganetta''. It is placed in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae after the "perching duck" assemblage to which i ...

'' Gould 1842 (Torrent duck) ****** Genus ''

Chloephaga ''Chloephaga'' is a genus of sheldgeese in the family Anatidae. Other sheldgeese are found in the genera ''Alopochen'' and '' Neochen''. Taxonomy The genus ''Chloephaga'' was introduced in 1838 by the English naturalist Thomas Campbell Eyton ...

'' Eyton 1838 ****** Genus ''

Neochen ''Neochen'' is a genus of birds in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Extant species The genus contains a single living species: Fossil species * †''Neochen barbadiana'' * †''Neochen debilis'' * †''Neochen pugil'' References

...

'' Oberholser 1918 ****** Genus '' Cyanochen'' (Rüppell 1845) Bonaparte 1856 (blue-winged goose) ****** Genus ''

Tadorna The shelducks, most species of which are found in the genus ''Tadorna'' (except for the Radjah shelduck, which is now found in its own monotypic genus ''Radjah''), are a group of large birds in the Tadorninae subfamily of the Anatidae, the biolog ...

'' Boie 1822 ****** Genus ''

Radjah The radjah shelduck (''Radjah radjah''), is a species of shelduck found mostly in New Guinea and Australia, and also on some of the Moluccas. It is known alternatively as the raja shelduck, black-backed shelduck, or in Australia as the Burdekin ...

'' Reichenbach, 1853 ****** Genus ''

Alopochen ''Alopochen'' is a genus of the bird family Anatidae, part of the subfamily Tadorninae along with the shelducks. It contains one extant species, the Egyptian goose (''Alopochen aegyptiaca''), and two or three species which became extinct in the ...

'' Stejneger 1885 ****** Genus '' Cairina'' (Linnaeus 1758) Fleming 1822 (Muscovy duck) ****** Genus ''

Hymenolaimus The blue duck or whio (''Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos'') is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae endemic to New Zealand. It is the only member of the genus ''Hymenolaimus''. Its exact taxonomic status is still unresolved, but i ...

'' (Gmelin 1789) Gray 1843 (blue duck) ****** Genus '' Sarkidiornis'' Eyton 1838 ****** Genus ''

Tachyeres 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 spec ...

'' Owen 1875 (steamer ducks) ***** Subfamily

Anatinae The Anatinae are a subfamily of the family Anatidae (swans, geese and ducks). 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 you ...

Vigors 1825 sensu Livezey 1996 ****** Genus †''

Dunstanetta ''Dunstanetta johnstoneorum'' is a genus and species of extinct duck from the Miocene of New Zealand. It was described from fossil material (a distal left humerus) collected from a Saint Bathans Fauna site on Home Hills Station, in the lower ...

'' Worthy et al. 2007 (Johnstone's duck) ****** Genus †'' Lavadytis'' Stidham & Hilton 2015 ****** Genus †'' Pinpanetta'' Worthy 2009 ****** Genus †'' Tirarinetta'' Worthy 2008 ****** Genus ''

Aix Aix or AIX may refer to: Computing * AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems *An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set * Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point Places Belgi ...

'' Boie 1828 ****** Genus '' Callonetta'' Delacour 1936 (ringed teal) ****** Genus ''

Chenonetta ''Chenonetta'' is a genus of dabbling duck. One species is extinct, while the other is extant. Species The genus includes the following two species: *Australian wood duck (''Chenonetta jubata'') *Finsch's duck Finsch's duck (''Chenonetta fi ...

'' von Brandt 1836 (Australian wood duck) ****** Genus ''

Biziura ''Biziura'' is a genus of stiff-tailed ducks endemic to Australasia and containing one living and one subfossil species. Species * †''B. delautouri'' Forbes, 1892 – New Zealand musk duck – previously endemic to New Zealand, and occurri ...

'' Stephens 1824 (musk ducks) ****** Genus '' Pteronetta'' (Cassin 1860) Salvadori 1895 (Hartlaub's duck) ****** Genus ''

Marmaronetta The marbled duck, or marbled teal (''Marmaronetta angustirostris'') is a medium-sized species of duck from southern Europe, northern Africa, and western and central Asia. The scientific name, ''Marmaronetta angustirostris'', comes from the Greek ...

'' (Ménétries 1832) Reichenbach 1853 (marbled duck) ****** Genus '' Asarcornis'' (Müller 1842) Salvadori 1895 (white-winged duck) ****** Genus ''

Netta ''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. These are gregarious ducks, mainly found on fres ...

'' Kaup 1829 ****** Genus '' Lophonetta'' (King 1828) Riley 1914 (crested duck) ****** Genus ''

Amazonetta The Brazilian teal or Brazilian duck (''Amazonetta brasiliensis'') is the only duck in the genus ''Amazonetta''. It is widely distributed in eastern South America. Taxonomy The Brazilian teal was formally described in 1789 by the German natura ...

'' (Gmelin 1789) von Boetticher 1929 (Brazilian teal) ****** Tribe Oxyurini Swainson 1831 (stiff-tailed ducks and allies) ****** Genus †'' Anabernicula'' Ross 1935 ******* Genus '' Heteronetta'' (Merrem 1841) Salvadori 1865 (black-headed duck) ******* Genus '' Nomonyx'' (Linnaeus 1766) Ridgway 1880 (masked duck) ******* Genus '' Oxyura'' Bonaparte 1828 ****** Genus ''

Nettapus The pygmy geese are a group of very small "perching ducks" in the genus ''Nettapus'' which breed in the Old World tropics. They are the smallest of all wildfowl. As the "perching ducks" are a paraphyletic group, they need to be placed elsewhere. ...

'' von Brandt 1836 (pygmy geese) ****** Genus '' Malacorhynchus'' Swainson 1831 (pink-eared duck) ****** Genus '' Salvadorina'' Rothschild & Hartert 1894 (Salvadori's teal) ****** Genus '' Speculanas'' (King 1828) von Boetticher 1929 (bronze-winged duck) ****** Tribe

Rafinesque 1815 (eiders, scoters, mergansers and other sea-ducks) ******* Genus †'' Chendytes'' Miller 1925 ******* Genus †'' Shiriyanetta'' Watanabe & Matsuoka 2015 ******* Genus †''

Camptorhynchus The Labrador duck (''Camptorhynchus labradorius'') was a North American bird; it has the distinction of being the first known endemic North American bird species to become extinct after the Columbian Exchange, with the last known sighting occurr ...

'' (Gmelin 1789) Bonaparte 1838 (Labrador duck) ******* Genus ''

Histrionicus The harlequin duck (''Histrionicus histrionicus'') is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Harlequin (French ''Arlequin'', Italian ''Arlecchino''), a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Lati ...

'' Lesson 1828 (harlequin duck) ******* Genus ''

Clangula The long-tailed duck (''Clangula hyemalis''), formerly known as oldsquaw, is a medium-sized sea duck that breeds in the tundra and taiga regions of the arctic and winters along the northern coastlines of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is th ...

'' Leach 1819 (long-tailed duck) ******* Genus '' Polysticta stelleri'' (Pallas 1769) Eyton 1836 (Steller's eider) ******* Genus ''

Somateria Eiders () are large seaducks in the genus ''Somateria''. The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The down feathers of eider ducks, and some other ducks and geese, are used to fill pillows and quil ...

'' Leach 1819 (eiders) ******* Genus '' Melanitta'' Boie 1822 (scoters) ******* Genus '' Bucephala'' Baird 1858 ******* Genus ''

Mergellus ''Mergellus'' is a genus of duck. The smew ''(Mergellus albellus)'' is the only living species, but an extinct species known as '' Mergellus mochanovi'' has also been described from Late Pleistocene deposits in the Yakutia region of Russia ...

'' Selby 1840 (Smew) ******* Genus ''

Lophodytes The hooded merganser (''Lophodytes cucullatus'') is a species of merganser. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Lophodytes''. The genus name derives from the Greek language: ''lophos'' meaning 'crest', and ''dutes'' meaning 'diver'. The ...

'' (Linnaeus 1758) Reichenbach 1853 (hooded merganser) ******* Genus '' Mergus'' Linnaeus 1758 non Brisson 1760 ****** Tribe

Vigors 1825 sensu Livezey 1996 (dabbling ducks and moa-nalos) ******* Genus †''

Matanas ''Matanas enrighti'' is an extinct duck from the Miocene of New Zealand. It was described from fossil material (a left humerus) collected from a Saint Bathans Fauna site near Mata Creek, in the lower Bannockburn Formation of the Manuherikia Gr ...

'' Worthy et al. 2007 (Enright's duck) ******* Genus ''

Anas ''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 s ...

'' Linnaeus 1758 ******* Genus '' Sibirionetta'' (Georgi 1775) (Baikal teal) ******* Genus ''

Mareca ''Mareca'' is a genus or subgenus of ducks in the family Anatidae that includes the wigeons. The species now placed in this genus were formerly placed in the genus ''Anas''. A molecular phylogentic study comparing mitochondrial DNA sequences pub ...

'' (Stephens 1824) ******* Genus ''

Spatula A spatula is a broad, flat, flexible blade used to mix, spread and lift material including foods, drugs, plaster and paints. In medical applications, "spatula" may also be used synonymously with tongue depressor. The word ''spatula'' derives f ...

'' Boie 1822 ****** Tribe

Delacour and Mayr, 1945 (diving ducks) ******* Genus ''

Aythya ''Aythya'' is a genus of diving ducks. It has twelve described species. The name ''Aythya'' comes from the Ancient Greek word (), which may have referred to a sea-dwelling duck or an auklet. ''Aythya shihuibas'' was described from the Late Mi ...

'' Boie 1822 Some fossil anseriform taxa not assignable with certainty to a family are: * †'' Proherodius'' (London Clay Early Eocene of London, England) – Presbyornithidae? * †'' Garganornis ballmanni'' Meijer 2014 Unassigned Anatidae: * †'' "Anas" albae'' Jánossy 1979 ''Mergus''* †'' "Anas" amotape'' Campbell 1979 * †'' "Anas" isarensis'' Lambrecht 1933 * †'' "Anas" luederitzensis'' * †'' "Anas" sanctaehelenae'' Campbell 1979 * †'' "Anas" eppelsheimensis'' Lambrecht 1933 * †'' "Oxyura" doksana'' Mlíkovský 2002 * †'' "Anser" scaldii'' Anas" scaldii* †'' Ankonetta larriestrai'' Cenizo & Agnolín 2010 * †'' Cayaoa bruneti'' Tonni 1979 * †'' Eoneornis'' nomen dubium * †'' Eutelornis'' * †'' Aldabranas cabri'' Harrison & Walker 1978 * †'' Chenoanas deserta'' Zelenkov 2012 * †'' Cygnopterus alphonsi'' Cheneval 1984 on_''Cygnavus_senckenbergi''_Mlíkovský_2002.html" ;"title="Cygnavus_senckenbergi.html" ;"title="on '' on_''Cygnavus_senckenbergi''_Mlíkovský_2002">Cygnavus_senckenbergi.html"_;"title="on_''Cygnavus_senckenbergi">on_''Cygnavus_senckenbergi''_Mlíkovský_2002*_†'' on_''Cygnavus_senckenbergi''_Mlíkovský_2002">Cygnavus_senckenbergi.html"_;"title="on_''Cygnavus_senckenbergi">on_''Cygnavus_senckenbergi''_Mlíkovský_2002*_†''Helonetta">Helonetta_brodkorbi''_Emslie_1992 *_†'' on_''Cygnavus_senckenbergi''_Mlíkovský_2002">Cygnavus_senckenbergi.html"_;"title="on_''Cygnavus_senckenbergi">on_''Cygnavus_senckenbergi''_Mlíkovský_2002*_†''Helonetta">Helonetta_brodkorbi''_Emslie_1992 *_†''Loxornis">Loxornis_clivus''_Ameghino_1894 *_†''Mioquerquedula.html" ;"title="Loxornis.html" ;"title="Helonetta.html" ;"title="Cygnavus senckenbergi">on ''Cygnavus senckenbergi'' Mlíkovský 2002">Cygnavus_senckenbergi.html" ;"title="on ''Cygnavus senckenbergi">on ''Cygnavus senckenbergi'' Mlíkovský 2002* †''Helonetta">Helonetta brodkorbi'' Emslie 1992 * †''Loxornis">Loxornis clivus'' Ameghino 1894 * †''Mioquerquedula">Mioquerquedula minutissima'' Zelenkov & Kuročkin 2012 [''Anas velox'' Milne-Edwards 1867] * †''Paracygnopterus, Paracygnopterus scotti'' Harrison & Walker 1979 * †''Proanser, Proanser major'' Umanskaya 1979 * †'' Teleornis'' Ameghino 1899 * †'' Protomelanitta'' Zelenkov 2011 * †'' Nogusunna conflictoides'' Zelenkov 2011 * †'' Sharganetta mongolica'' Zelenkov 2011 * '' Metopiana'' Bonaparte 1856 'Metopias''_Heine_&_Reichenow_1890;_''Phoeonetta.html" ;"title="Metopias.html" ;"title="'Metopias">'Metopias'' Heine & Reichenow 1890; ''Phoeonetta">Metopias.html" ;"title="'Metopias">'Metopias'' Heine & Reichenow 1890; ''Phoeonetta'' Delacour 1937; ''Netta (Phoeoaythia)'' Delacour 1937] * †''Bambolinetta'' (Portis 1884) Mayr & Pavia 2014 [''Anas lignitifila'' Portis 1884] * †''Heteroanser, Heteroanser vicinus'' (Kuročkin 1976) Zelenkov 2012 'Heterochen_vicinus''_Kuročkin_1976;_''Anser_vicinus.html" ;"title="Heterochen_vicinus.html" ;"title="'Heterochen vicinus">'Heterochen vicinus'' Kuročkin 1976; ''Anser vicinus">Heterochen_vicinus.html" ;"title="'Heterochen vicinus">'Heterochen vicinus'' Kuročkin 1976; ''Anser vicinus'' (Kuročkin 1976) Mlíkovský & Švec 1986] * †''Sinanas'' Yeh 1980 * †''Talpanas'' Olson & James 2009 (Kaua'i mole duck) * †''Wasonaka'' Howard 1966 * †''Chelychelynechen'' Olson & James 1991 (turtle-jawed moa-nalo) * †'' Ptaiochen'' Olson & James 1991 (small-billed moa-nalo) * †''

Thambetochen Thambetochen is an extinct genus of moa-nalo duck. It contains two species, the Maui Nui moa-nalo (''T. chauliodous'') and the smaller O'ahu moa-nalo (''T. xanion''). The former was found on Maui and Molokai on Hawaii, the latter was fou ...

'' Olson & Wetmore 1976 In addition, a considerable number of mainly Late Cretaceous and

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...

fossils have been described where it is uncertain whether or not they are anseriforms. This is because almost all orders of aquatic birds living today either originated or underwent a major

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...

during that time, making it hard to decide whether some waterbird-like bone belongs into this family or is the product of parallel evolution in a different lineage due to adaptive pressures. * "Presbyornithidae" gen. et sp. indet. (Barun Goyot Late Cretaceous of Udan Sayr, Mongolia) – Presbyornithidae? * UCMP 117599 (Hell Creek Late Cretaceous of Bug Creek West, USA) * '' Petropluvialis'' (Late Eocene of England) – may be same as ''Palaeopapia'' * ''

Agnopterus ''Agnopterus'' is an extinct genus of stem-flamingo phoenicopteriform with fossil material from France, as well as possibly England, Kazakhstan, and Brazil. The holotype specimen for type species ''A. laurillardi'' is an incomplete distal ...

'' (Late Eocene – Late Oligocene of Europe) – includes ''Cygnopterus lambrechti'' * ''"Headonornis hantoniensis"'' BMNH PAL 4989 (Hampstead Early Oligocene of Isle of Wight, England) – formerly ''"Ptenornis"'' * '' Palaeopapia'' (Hampstead Early Oligocene of Isle of Wight, England) * ''"Anas" creccoides'' (Early/Middle Oligocene of Belgium) * ''"Anas" skalicensis'' (Early Miocene of "Skalitz", Czech Republic) * ''"Anas" risgoviensis'' (Late Miocene of Bavaria, Germany) * †'' "Anas" meyerii'' Milne-Edwards 1867 'Aythya_meyerii''_(Milne-Edwards_1867)_Brodkorb_1964.html" ;"title="Aythya_meyerii.html" ;"title="' 'Aythya_meyerii''_(Milne-Edwards_1867)_Brodkorb_1964">Aythya_meyerii.html"_;"title="'Aythya_meyerii">'Aythya_meyerii''_(Milne-Edwards_1867)_Brodkorb_1964*_†'' 'Aythya_meyerii''_(Milne-Edwards_1867)_Brodkorb_1964">Aythya_meyerii.html"_;"title="'Aythya_meyerii">'Aythya_meyerii''_(Milne-Edwards_1867)_Brodkorb_1964*_†''Eonessa">Eonessa_anaticula''_Wetmore_1938_

_Phylogeny

Living_Anseriformes_based_on_the_work_by_John_Boyd. Image:Zoo_América-2897-Chauna_torquata.jpg.html" ;"title="Eonessa.html" ;"title="Aythya meyerii">' Aythya_meyerii.html"_;"title="'Aythya_meyerii">'Aythya_meyerii''_(Milne-Edwards_1867)_Brodkorb_1964*_†''Eonessa">Eonessa_anaticula''_Wetmore_1938_

_Phylogeny

Living_Anseriformes_based_on_the_work_by_John_Boyd. Image:Zoo_América-2897-Chauna_torquata.jpg">Crested_screamer_(''Chauna_torquata'') Image:magpie.goose.grooming.arp.750pix.jpg.html" ;"title="Aythya meyerii'' (Milne-Edwards 1867) Brodkorb 1964">Aythya_meyerii.html" ;"title="' 'Aythya_meyerii''_(Milne-Edwards_1867)_Brodkorb_1964*_†''Eonessa">Eonessa_anaticula''_Wetmore_1938_

_Phylogeny

Living_Anseriformes_based_on_the_work_by_John_Boyd. Image:Zoo_América-2897-Chauna_torquata.jpg">Crested_screamer_(''Chauna_torquata'') Image:magpie.goose.grooming.arp.750pix.jpg">Magpie_goose_(''Anseranas_semipalmata''),_sole_surviving_member_of_a_Mesozoic_ The_Mesozoic_Era_(_),_also_called_the_Age_of_Reptiles,_the_Age_of_Conifers,_and_colloquially_as_the_Age_of_the_Dinosaurs_is_the_second-to-last_era_of_Earth's__geological_history,_lasting_from_about_,_comprising_the_Triassic,_Jurassic_and_Cretaceo_...

Evolution

Taxonomy

Systematics

_Phylogeny

_Phylogeny

_Phylogeny

Phylogeny

Molecular studies

See also

References

Cited texts