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Anseriformes

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	Anseriformes
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	Topics Anseriformes Topic Home The order Anseriformes contains about 150 living speciesSpecies In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity.... of birdBird Birds are bipedal, warm-blooded, oviparous vertebrate animals characterized primarily by feathers, forelimbs modified as win... s in three extant families: the Anhimidae (the screamers), Anseranatidae (the Magpie-gooseMagpie-goose The Magpie-goose, Anseranas semipalmata, is an unusual member of the bird order Anseriformes, the latter containin... ), and the AnatidaeAnatidae Anatidae is the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swan.... , which includes over 140 species of waterfowlWaterfowl Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, g... , among them the duckDuck Summary Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds.... s, geeseGoose Goose is the general English name for a considerable number of birds, belonging to the family Anatidae.... , and swanSwan Swans are large water birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks.... s. All species in the order are highly adapted for an aquatic existence at the water surface. All are web-footed for efficient swimming (although some have subsequently become mainly terrestrial). Evolution The earliest known Anseriform is the recently discovered VegavisVegavis *Vegavis* is a recently discovered genus of extinct birds that lived during the Cretaceous period in Antarctica.... , which lived during the CretaceousCretaceous The Cretaceous Period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic Period ... period. It is thought that the Anseriformes originated when the original Galloanserae (the group to which Anseriformes and GalliformesFacts About Galliformes The Galliformes is an order of birds containing the turkeys, grouse, quails and pheasants.... belong) split into the two main lineages. The extinct dromornithids represent early offshoots of the anseriform line, possibly derived from screamerScreamer The Screamers are a small family of birds, the Anhimidae.... -like ancestors, and so maybe GastornisGastornis *Gastornis* is an extinct genus of large flightless birds that lived during the late Paleocene and Eocene periods of the C... (if it is an Anseriform). The ancestors of the Anseriformes developed the characteristic bill structure that they still share. The combination of the internal shape of the bill and a modified tongue acts as a suction pump to draw water in at the tip of the bill and expel it from the sides and rear; an array of fine filter plates called lamellae traps small particles, which are then licked off and swallowed. All Anseriformes have this basic structure, but many have subsequently adopted alternative feeding strategies: geeseGoose Goose is the general English name for a considerable number of birds, belonging to the family Anatidae.... graze on plants, the saw-billed ducksMerginae The seaducks, Merginae, form a subfamily of the duck, goose and swan family of birds, Anatidae.... catch fish; even the screamerScreamer The Screamers are a small family of birds, the Anhimidae.... s, which have bills that seem on first sight more like those of the game birds, still have vestigal lamellae. The prehistoric wading presbyornithids and the huge and possibly carnivorous dromornithids were even more bizarre. Systematics The Anseriformes and the GalliformesGalliformes The Galliformes is an order of birds containing the turkeys, grouse, quails and pheasants.... (pheasants etc) are the most primitive neognathous birds, and should follow ratiteRatite A ratite is any of a diverse group of large, flightless birds of Gondwanian origin, most of them now extinct.... s and tinamouTinamou The tinamous are one of the most ancient groups of bird, members of a South American bird family of about 47 species in 9 ge... s in bird classification systems. AnatidaeAnatidae Anatidae is the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swan.... 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. ORDER ANSERIFORMES Family Anhimidae: screamers Family Anseranatidae: the Magpie-goose Family AnatidaeAnatidae Anatidae is the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swan.... Subfamily DendrocygninaeDendrocygninae Overview Dendrocygninae is a subfamily of the duck, goose and swan family of birds, Anatidae.... : Whistling ducks (sometimes given full family status as the Dendrocygnidae). Subfamily Thalassorninae: the White-backed Duck. Subfamily AnserinaeAnserinae The Anserinae is a subfamily of the waterfowl family Anatidae.... : Swans and geese. Subfamily Stictonettinae: the Freckled Duck. Subfamily Plectropterinae: the Spur-winged Goose. Subfamily TadorninaeTadorninae The Tadorninae is a subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl su... : Shelducks and sheldgeese - probably paraphyletic Subfamily AnatinaeAnatinae The Anatinae is one of the subfamilies of the family Anatidae, which includes the swans, geese and ducks.... : Dabbling ducks and moa-nalos Subfamily Aythyinae: Diving ducks (sometimes included in Anatinae) Subfamily MerginaeMerginae The seaducks, Merginae, form a subfamily of the duck, goose and swan family of birds, Anatidae.... : eiders, scoters, mergansers and other sea-ducks. Subfamily OxyurinaeOxyurinae Oxyurinae is a sub-family of the duck, goose and swan family of birds, Anatidae.... : Stiff-tailed ducks and allies. Family DromornithidaeDromornithidae Dromornithidae were a family of large, flightless birds that lived in Australia until the end of the Pleistocene, but are no... : mihirungs Family PresbyornithidaePresbyornithidae Presbyornithidae were a family of waterbirds with an apparently global distribution that lived until the Earliest Oligocene,... : several genera of wading-"geese" The fossil Gastornithidae (diatrymas) are also occasionally included herein as a family. Some fossil anseriform taxa not assignable with certainty to a family are: AnatalavisAnatalavis *Antalavis* is genus of prehistoric birds related to ducks and geese, perhaps in particular the Magpie-goose.... (Late Cretaceous/Early Paleocene - Early Eocene) - Anseranatidae or basalBasal (phylogenetics) In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.... . Includes "Telmatornis" rex. Proherodius (London Clay Early Eocene of London, England) - Presbyornithidae? Romainvillia (Late Eocene/Early Oligocene) - Anseranatidae or Anatidae Paranyroca (Rosebud Early Miocene of Bennett County, USA) - Anatidae or own family? In addition, a considerable number of mainly Late Cretaceous and PaleogenePaleogene Paleogene period is a unit of geologic time that began 65 and ended 23 million years ago.... 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 radiationAdaptive radiation Adaptive radiation describes the rapid speciation of a single or a few species to fill many ecological niches.... 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. ApatornisApatornis *Apatornis* is a prehistoric bird genus from the Late Cretaceous.... (Smoky Hill Chalk Late Cretaceous of Twin Butte Creek, USA) VegavisVegavis Summary *Vegavis* is a recently discovered genus of extinct birds that lived during the Cretaceous period in Antarctica.... (Late Cretaceous) - closer to Presbyornithidae and Anatidae than to Anseranatidae "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 (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", Czechia) "Anas" risgoviensis (Late Miocene of Bavaria, Germany)