Anas

Pintail Anas acuta, photographed by Tom Davis.

Belongs within: Anatinae.

Anas is the primary genus of the dipping or dabbling ducks. These ducks have short legs and a flat duck bill, and have only a simple claw (no lobe or flap) on the hind toe (Austin 1961). Molecular analyses (e.g. Burleigh et al. 2015) have cast doubt on the monophyly of the genus as commonly recognised, with a clade of South American ducks (Tachyeres and related taxa) placed within Anas in the broad sense. Consequently, a clade including the shovelers and blue-winged ducks is here excluded from the genus Anas. The more restricted genus includes the wigeons, mallards and related taxa. The mallard Anas platyrhynchos is the ancestral species of the domestic duck, and consequently has become widely introduced around the world. It forms a superspecies with other species such as the mottled duck Anas fulvigula of North America, the spot-billed duck A. poecilorhyncha of southern Asia, and the grey duck A. superciliosa of the Pacific region, and commonly interbreeds with those species where their ranges overlap. These species largely resemble the female of the mallard with males lacking the metallic green head of the latter. The wigeons, including the Eurasian wigeon Anas penelope and the American wigeon Anas americana, are characterised by a head with a steep forehead and bulbous rear. The pintail is a large, slender, long-billed duck found across the Holarctic region, with males having a distinctive brown head, white throat and long black tail.

<==Anas Linnaeus 1758 CC10 (see below for synonymy)
    |--+--+--A. falcata Georgi 1775 BKB15, CS77
    |  |  `--A. strepera Linnaeus 1758 BKB15, M02
    |  |       |--A. s. strepera CS77
    |  |       `--A. s. couesi Streets 1876 CS77
    |  `--+--A. penelope Linnaeus 1758 BKB15, CC10 [=Mareca penelope CC10; incl. *M. fistularis CC10]
    |     `--+--A. americana Gmelin 1789 BKB15, CS77 [=Mareca americana PB27]
    |        `--A. sibilatrix BKB15
    `--+--+--A. sparsa BKB15
       |  `--+--A. undulata BKB15
       |     |    |--A. u. undulata RN72
       |     |    `--A. u. ruppelli RN72
       |     `--+--A. melleri BKB15
       |        `--+--+--A. luzonica BKB15
       |           |  `--+--A. zonorhyncha BKB15 [=A. poecilorhyncha zonorhyncha SU93]
       |           |     `--+--A. platyrhynchos Linnaeus 1758 BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
       |           |        |    |--A. p. platyrhynchos CS77
       |           |        |    |--A. p. conboschas Brehm 1831 CS77
       |           |        |    `--A. p. maculosa CS77
       |           |        `--A. poecilorhyncha Forster 1781 BKB15, WS48
       |           |             |--A. p. poecilorhyncha SU93
       |           |             `--A. p. haringtoni SU93
       |           `--+--+--A. laysanensis BKB15 [=A. platyrhynchos laysanensis CS77]
       |              |  `--A. superciliosa Gmelin 1789 BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
       |              `--+--A. diazi BKB15 [=A. platyrhynchos diazi CS77]
       |                 |--A. fulvigula BKB15 [=A. platyrhynchos fulvigula CS77]
       |                 `--A. rubripes Brewster 1902 BKB15, CS77
       `--+--+--A. capensis Gmelin 1789 BKB15, CS77
          |  `--+--A. erythrorhyncha BKB15
          |     `--+--A. bahamensis Linnaeus 1758 BKB15, L58
          |        |    |--A. b. bahamensis RN72
          |        |    |--A. b. galapagensis RN72
          |        |    `--A. b. rubrirostris RN72
          |        `--+--A. acuta Linnaeus 1758 BKB15, CC10 [=Dafila acuta CC10]
          |           |    |--A. a. acuta CS77
          |           |    `--A. a. drygalskii Reichenow 1904 CS77
          |           `--A. georgica BKB15
          |                |--A. g. georgica RN72
          |                |--A. g. niceforoi RN72
          |                `--A. g. spinicauda RN72
          `--+--+--A. crecca Linnaeus 1758 BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
             |  |    |--A. c. crecca CS77
             |  |    `--A. c. nimia Friedmann 1948 CS77
             |  `--+--A. carolinensis Gmelin 1789 BKB15, CS77 [=A. crecca carolinensis CS77, Nettion carolinense PB27]
             |     `--A. flavirostris BKB15
             |          |--A. f. flavirostris RN72
             |          |--A. f. altipetens RN72
             |          `--A. f. oxyptera RN72
             `--+--+--A. castanea (Eyton 1838) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                |  `--A. gracilis Buller 1869 BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                `--+--A. bernieri BKB15 [=Querquedula bernieri S66]
                   `--+--A. aucklandica (Gray 1849) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                      `--+--A. chlorotis Gray 1845 BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                         `--A. nesiotis (Fleming 1935) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)

Anas incertae sedis:
  A. adunca Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. albae Jánossy 1979 M02
  A. andium JT12 [=A. flavirostris andium RN72]
  A. arborea Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. assimilis S66
  A. autumnalis Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. benedeni Sharpe 1899 [=A. creccoides Beneden 1871 non King 1828] M02
  A. bucephala Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. circia Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. cygnoid Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. eatoni (Sharpe 1875) JT12, CS77 [=A. acuta eatoni CS77]
  A. eppelsheimensis Lambrecht 1933 M02
  A. ‘fusca’ Ellman 1861 (n. d.) non Linnaeus 1758 CC10
  A. gibberifrons Müller 1842 (see below for synonymy) CC10
    |--A. g. gibberifrons SU93
    |--A. g. albogularis SU93
    `--A. g. remissa RN72
  A. glaucion Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. integra FP64
  A. isarensis Lambrecht 1933 M02
  A. lignitifila Portis 1884 [=A. lignitiphila] M02
  A. marecula FS01
  A. mediterranea Ellman 1861 (n. d.) CC10
  A. minuta Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. obscura L81
  A. oeningensis Meyer 1865 [=Anser oeningensis] M02
  A. risgoviensis Ammon 1918 M02
  A. rustica Linnaeus 1758 L58
  A. sansaniensis Milne-Edwards 1868 [=Dendrocygna sansaniensis] M02
  A. skalicensis Bayer 1882 M02
  A. specularioides ZJM03
  A. theodori FS01
  A. vallisneria L81
  A. velox Milne-Edwards 1868 [=Nettion velox; incl. Anas meyerii Milne-Edwards 1868, Aythya meyerii] M02
  A. wyvilliana JT12 [=A. platyrhynchos wyvilliana CS77]

Nomina nuda: Anas arcensis Kretzoi 1962 M02
             Anas crassa Milne-Edwards 1871 M02

Anas Linnaeus 1758 CC10 [=Anassus Rafinesque 1815 CC10; incl. Boschas Swainson 1831 CC10, Chauliodus Swainson 1831 B94, Dafila Stephens 1824 B94, Elasmonetta Salvadori 1895 CC10, Mareca Stephens in Shaw 1824 CC10, Nesonetta Gray 1844 CC10, Nettion Kaup 1829 CC10, Sibirionetta von Boetticher 1929 B94, Virago Newton 1872 CC10, Xenonetta Fleming 1935 CC10]

Anas aucklandica (Gray 1849) BKB15, CC10 [=*Nesonetta aucklandica CC10, A. castanea aucklandica CC10, Erismatura (*Nesonetta) aucklandica CC10]

Anas castanea (Eyton 1838) BKB15, CC10 [=Mareca castanea CC10, A. (Virago) castanea CC10, Nettion castanea CC10; incl. Virago castanea alexanderi Mathews 1916 CC10, Anas punctata Gould 1845 non Burchell 1822 CC10, *V. punctata CC10]

Anas chlorotis Gray 1845 BKB15, CC10 [=A. aucklandica chlorotis CC10, A. castanea chlorotis CC10, *Elasmonetta chlorotis CC10; incl. E. chlorotis peculiaris Mathews 1937 CC10]

Anas crecca Linnaeus 1758 BKB15, CC10 [=*Nettion crecca CC10, Nettium crecca M01; incl. A. crecca percrecca Jánossy 1992 M02]

Anas gibberifrons Müller 1842 [=A. (Mareca) gibberifrons, Nettion gibberifrons, Nettium (l. c.) gibberifrons, Querquedula gibberifrons] CC10

Anas gracilis Buller 1869 BKB15, CC10 [=A. gibberifrons gracilis CC10, Virago gibberifrons gracilis CC10; incl. Mareca castanea Marie 1870 non Eyton 1838 CC10, Nettion castaneum CC10, Nettium (l. c.) castaneum CC10, Anas gibberifrons mathewsi Phillips 1923 CC10, Nettion castaneum rogersi Mathews 1912 non Anas superciliosa rogersi Mathews 1912 CC10, Virago gibberifrons rogersi CC10]

Anas nesiotis (Fleming 1935) BKB15, CC10 [=*Xenonetta nesiotis CC10, A. aucklandica nesiotis CC10, A. castanea nesiotis CC10]

Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus 1758 BKB15, CC10 [incl. Fuligula aretina Portis 1887 M02, Anas aretina M02, Aythya aretina M02, *Anas boschas Linnaeus 1766 CC10, Anas boscas (l. c.) CC10, *Boschas boschas CC10, Fuligula sepulta Portis 1887 M02, Anas sepulta M02, Aythya sepulta M02]

Anas superciliosa Gmelin 1789 BKB15, CC10 [=A. superciliaris CC10; incl. A. leucophrys Forster in Lichtenstein 1844 CC10, A. muelleri Bonaparte 1856 CC10, A. novaehollandiae Mathews 1920 CC10, A. oustaleti Salvadori 1894 CC10, A. platyrhynchos oustaleti FR98, A. superciliosa var. pelewensis Hartlaub & Finsch 1872 CC10, A. superciliosa percna Riley 1919 CC10, A. superciliosa rogersi Mathews 1912 CC10, A. poecilorhyncha rogersi WS48, A. superciliosa rukensis Kuroda 1939 CC10]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[CS77] Cramp, S., & K. E. L. Simmons (eds) 1977. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: The Birds of the Western Palaearctic vol. 1. Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford University Press: Oxford.

[FP64] Fisher, J., & R. T. Peterson. 1964. The World of Birds: A comprehensive guide to general ornithology. Macdonald: London.

[FS01] Flannery, T., & P. Schouten. 2001. A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals. Text Publishing: Melbourne.

[FR98] Fritts, T. H., & G. H. Rodda. 1998. The role of introduced species in the degradation of island ecosystems: a case history of Guam. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 29: 113–140.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[L58] Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii: Holmiae.

[L81] Long, J. L. 1981. Introduced Birds of the World: The worldwide history, distribution and influence of birds introduced to new environments. Reed: Sydney.

[M01] Madarász, J. 1901. Madarak [Vögel]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 21–39. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[PB27] Pilsbry, H. A., & J. Bequaert. 1927. The aquatic mollusks of the Belgian Congo, with a geographical and ecological account of Congo malacology. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 53 (2): 69–602, pls 10–77.

[RN72] Rutgers, A., & K. A. Norris (eds.) 1972. Encyclopaedia of Aviculture vol. 1. Blandford Press: London.

[S66] Schlegel, H. 1866. Communication from, on mammals and birds collected in Madagascar. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 419–426.

[SU93] Sonobe, K., & S. Usui (eds.) 1993. A Field Guide to the Waterbirds of Asia. Wild Bird Society of Japan: Tokyo.

[WS48] Whittell, H. M., & D. L. Serventy. 1948. A systematic list of the birds of Western Australia. Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia, Special Publication 1: 1–126.

[ZJM03] Zeffer, A., L. C. Johansson & Å. Marmebro. 2003. Functional correlation between habitat use and leg morphology in birds (Aves). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 79: 461–484.

Last udpated: 27 November 2021.