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Sea Duck
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 spend their winters near coastal waters. Many species have developed specialized salt glands to allow them to tolerate salt water, but these are poorly developed in juveniles. Some of the species prefer riverine habitats. All but two of the 22 species in this group live in far northern latitudes. The fish-eating members of this group, such as the Mergus, mergansers and smew, have serrated edges to their bills to help them grip their prey and are often known as "sawbills". Other sea ducks forage by diving underwater, taking molluscs or crustaceans from the sea floor. The Mergini take on the Plumage#Eclipse plumage, eclipse plumage during the late summer and molt into their breeding plumage during the winter. Species There are twenty-two species ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harlequin Duck
The harlequin duck (''Histrionicus histrionicus'') is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Harlequin (Italian ''Arlecchino'', French ''Arlequin''), a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", meaning "actor". Other names include painted duck, totem pole duck, rock duck, glacier duck, mountain duck, white-eyed diver, squeaker, lords and ladies and blue streak. Taxonomy In 1747 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the harlequin duck in the second volume of his ''A Natural History of Uncommon Birds''. He used the English name "The Dusky and Spotted Duck". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen that had been brought to London from Newfoundland in eastern Canada. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the tenth edition, he placed the harlequin duck with the ducks, geese and swans in the genus ''Ana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus ''Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomy (biology), taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants of an ancestral taxon are grouped together (i.e. Phylogeneti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Eider
The king eider (pronounced ) (''Somateria spectabilis'') is a large Merginae, sea duck that breeds along Northern Hemisphere Arctic coasts of northeast Europe, North America and Palearctic, Asia. The birds spend most of the year in coastal marine ecosystems at high latitudes, and migrate to Arctic tundra to breed in June and July. They lay four to seven eggs in a scrape on the ground lined with grass and down. Taxonomy and etymology When he first described the king eider in 1758, in the 10th edition of his opus 10th edition of Systema Naturae, Systema Naturae, Carl Linnaeus assigned it to the genus ''Anas'', along with the rest of the ducks. In 1819, William Elford Leach moved it and the other large eiders to the genus ''Somateria'', where it has remained since. It is very closely related to the other members of its genus, and is known to Hybrid (biology), hybridise with the common eider. Despite its very large range, it is monotypic. The genus name ''Somateria'' is a combinati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Eider
The common eider (pronounced ) (''Somateria mollissima''), also called St. Cuthbert's duck or Cuddy's duck, is a large ( in body length) sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breeds in Arctic and some northern temperate regions, but winters somewhat farther south in temperate zones, when it can form large flocks on coastal waters. It can fly at speeds up to . The eider's nest is built close to the sea and is lined with eiderdown, plucked from the female's breast. This soft and warm lining has long been harvested for filling pillows and quilts, but in more recent years has been largely replaced by down from domestic farm-geese and synthetic alternatives. Although eiderdown pillows or quilts are now a rarity—typically being marketed as luxury goods—eiderdown harvesting continues and is sustainable, as it can be done after the ducklings leave the nest with no harm to the birds. Taxonomy The common eider was for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spectacled Eider
The spectacled eider (pronounced ) (''Somateria fischeri'') is a large sea duck that breeds on the coasts of Alaska and northeastern Siberia. The spectacled eider is slightly smaller than the common eider at in length. The male is unmistakable with its black body, white back, and yellow-green head with the large circular white eye patches which give the species its name. The drake's call is a weak crooning, and the female's a harsh croak. The female is a rich brown bird, but can still be readily distinguished from all ducks except other eider species on size and structure. The paler goggles are visible with a reasonable view and clinch identification. Immature birds and eclipse adult drakes are similar to the female. The binomial commemorates the German scientist Johann Fischer von Waldheim Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim (; 13 October 1771 – 18 October 1853) was a Electorate of Saxony, Saxon anatomist, entomologist and paleontologist. Fischer was born as Gotthilf Fisc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somateria Spectabilis 389138499
The 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 quilts—they have given the name to the type of quilt known as an eiderdown. Taxonomy The genus ''Somateria '' was introduced in 1819 to accommodate the king eider by the English zoologist William Leach in an appendix to John Ross's account of his voyage to look for the Northwest Passage. The name is derived from Ancient Greek : ''sōma'' "body" (stem ''somat-'') and : ''erion'' "wool", referring to eiderdown. Steller's eider (''Polysticta stelleri'') is in a different genus despite its name. Species The genus contains three extant species. Two undescribed species are known from fossils, one from Middle Oligocene rocks in Kazakhstan and another from the Late Miocene or Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, United States. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steller's Eider
Steller's eider (''Polysticta stelleri'') is a migrating Arctic diving duck that breeds along the coastlines of eastern Russia and Alaska. It is the rarest, smallest, and fastest flying of the eider species. Due to the extensive contraction of its breeding range, the Alaska-breeding population of Steller's eider was listed as vulnerable in 1997 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN). The species is protected in Russia and the U.S. and is the subject of an ongoing recovery plan by the European Union and United States Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Taxonomy Steller's eider was Species description, formally described and illustrated in 1769 by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas from a specimen collected on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Eastern Russia. He coined the binomial name ''Anas stelleri''; the specific epithet was chosen to honour the German naturalist and explorer Geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and recover. As a species' potential Range (biology), range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxon, Lazarus taxa, where a species presumed extinct abruptly "reappears" (typically in the Fossil, fossil record) after a period of apparent absence. Over five billion species are estimated to have died out. It is estimated that there are currently around 8.7 million species of eukaryotes globally, possibly many times more if microorganisms are included. Notable extinct animal species include Dinosaur, non-avian dinosaurs, Machairodontinae, saber-toothed cats, and mammoths. Through evolution, species arise through the process of specia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Labrador Duck
The Labrador duck (''Camptorhynchus labradorius'') is an extinct North American duck species. It has the distinction of being the first known endemic North American bird species to become extinct after the Columbian Exchange, with the last reported sighting occurring in 1878 in Elmira, New York, and the last preserved specimen was shot in the fall of 1875 in Long Island, New York by J.G. Bell. It was already a rare duck before European settlers arrived, and as a result of its rarity, information on the Labrador duck is not abundant, although some, such as its habitat, characteristics, dietary habits and reasons behind its extinction, are known. There are 55 specimens of the Labrador duck preserved in museum collections worldwide. Taxonomy The Labrador duck was also known as the pied duck and skunk duck, the former being a vernacular name that it shared with the surf scoter and the common goldeneye (and even the American oystercatcher), a fact that has led to difficulties in int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus Histrionicus) (13022042595)
Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters (Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Zan Ganassa in the late 16th century, was definitively popularized by the Italian actor Tristano Martinelli in Paris in 1584–1585, and became a stock character after Martinelli's death in 1630. The Harlequin is characterised by his checkered costume. His role is that of a light-hearted, nimble, and astute servant, often acting to thwart the plans of his master, and pursuing his own love interest, Columbine, with wit and resourcefulness, often competing with the sterner and melancholic Pierrot. He later develops into a prototype of the romantic hero. Harlequin inherits his physical agility and his trickster qualities, as well as his name, from a mischievous "devil" character in medieval Passion Plays. The Harlequin character first appear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
