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Aythya

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Aythya
Greater scaup (Aythya marila), the type species of Aythya
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Tribe: Aythyini
Genus: Aythya
F. Boie, 1822
Type species
Anas marila[1]
Linnaeus, 1761
Species

12 species, see text

Aythya is a genus of diving ducks, with twelve species currently accepted.[2] The name Aythya comes from the Ancient Greek word αυθυια (authuia), which may have referred to a sea-dwelling duck.[3]

Aythya shihuibas was described from the Late Miocene of China. Zelenkov (2016) transferred the species Anas denesi Kessler (2013), known from the late Miocene of Hungary, to the genus Aythya.[4] An undescribed prehistoric species is known only from Early Pleistocene fossil remains found at Dursunlu, Turkey;[5] it might however be referrable to a paleosubspecies of an extant species considering its age (see also Greater scaup). Subfossils have also been found on Réunion; this Réunion pochard awaits formal description, and may prove to have been a population of the Madagascar pochard.[6]

The Miocene[verification needed] "Aythya" arvernensis is now placed in Mionetta, while "Aythya" chauvirae seems to contain the remains of two species, at least one of which does not seem to be a diving duck.[7]

The genus Aythya was introduced in 1822 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie. The type species is the greater scaup.[8][9]

Aythya species

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The genus contains 12 species; all are monotypic except for A. marila, which has two subspecies, in the Old and New Worlds respectively.[2]

Male Female Scientific name Common name Distribution Conservation status
A. valisineria Canvasback North America least concern
A. ferina Common pochard Northern Europe into Asia vulnerable
A. americana Redhead North America, from as far north as Northern Canada to the lower United States least concern
A. collaris Ring-necked duck Northern United States and Canada least concern
A. australis Hardhead Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, and the islands of the Pacific least concern
A. baeri Baer's pochard Southeast Russia and northeast China, migrating in winter to southern China, Vietnam, Japan, and India critically endangered
A. nyroca Ferruginous duck From Iberia and the Maghreb east to western Mongolia, south to Arabia near threatened
A. innotata Madagascar pochard Madagascar critically endangered
A. novaeseelandiae New Zealand scaup New Zealand least concern
A. fuligula Tufted duck Throughout temperate and northern Eurasia; occasional visitor to the United States and Canada least concern
A. marila Greater scaup Iceland, northern Europe, northern Asia except far east (A. m. marila); far northeast Asia, Alaska, northern Canada (A. m. nearctica) least concern
A. affinis Lesser scaup Alaska through western Canada to western Montana, Central America least concern

Hybrids

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A tufted duck × common pochard hybrid. Note the casual resemblance to a lesser scaup in head shape, but distinguishable by the more uniform (less vermiculated) mantle feathers, and the bill pattern with a pale band and large black tip (uniform bluish in lesser scaup).

The species in the genus are all closely related, and are more prone to hybridisation than most other bird genera.[10][11] Hybrids regularly seen in Europe include tufted duck × common pochard, tufted duck × ring-necked duck, greater scaup × tufted duck, and common pochard × ferruginous duck;[10] while in North America, ring-necked duck × greater scaup, greater scaup × tufted duck, and canvasback × redhead are frequent.[12] These hybrids can often resemble, and be mistaken for, other species in the genus; for example tufted duck × common pochard hybrids are easily mistaken for lesser scaup.[10] Usually only male hybrids are evident; female hybrids are less obvious and even more difficult to identify.[10][12]


See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Anatidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2024). "Screamers, ducks, geese & swans". IOC World Bird List Version 14.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  3. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. ^ Nikita V. Zelenkov (2016). "РЕВИЗИЯ НЕВОРОБЬИНЫХ ПТИЦ ПОЛГАРДИ (ВЕНГРИЯ, ВЕРХНИЙ МИОЦЕН). 1. Anseriformes". Paleontological Journal. 50 (5).
  5. ^ Louchart, Antoine; Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile; Guleç, Erksin; Howell, Francis Clark & White, Tim D. (1998): L'avifaune de Dursunlu, Turquie, Pléistocène inférieur: climat, environnement et biogéographie. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris IIA 327(5): 341–346. [French with English abridged version] doi:10.1016/S1251-8050(98)80053-0 (HTML abstract)
  6. ^ Hume, Julian, ed. (1970). "A Synopsis of the Pre-human Avifauna of the Mascarene Islands" (PDF). Paleornithological Research 2013: 195–238. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  7. ^ Worthy, Trevor; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Jones, C.; McNamara, J.A. & Douglas, B.J. (2007): Miocene waterfowl and other birds from central Otago, New Zealand. J. Syst. Palaeontol. 5(1): 1–39. doi:10.1017/S1477201906001957 (HTML abstract)
  8. ^ Boie, Friedrich (1822). Tagebuch gehalten auf einer Reise durch Norwegen im Jahre 1817 (in German). Schleswig. pp. 308, 351.
  9. ^ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 482.
  10. ^ a b c d Svensson, L., Mullarney, K., & Zetterström, D. (2022) Collins Bird Guide, ed. 3. ISBN 978-0-00-854746-2, pages 34-35
  11. ^ Lehmhus, Jörn (2012). "Beitrag zur Identifikation von Entenhybriden der Gattung Aythya". AVES Braunschweig. 3: 33–40.
  12. ^ a b Sibley, David Allen (2014). The Sibley Guide to Birds. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-95790-0.