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 lightweig ...

s also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...

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 or ...

(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 fo ...

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

swan Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometim ...

s. 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 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 Creta ...

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

enantiornithe The Enantiornithes, also known as enantiornithines or enantiornitheans in literature, are a group of extinct avialans ("birds" in the broad sense), the most abundant and diverse group known from the Mesozoic era. Almost all retained teeth and cl ...

s 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 ...

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 waterbird ...

s, thought to be the common ancestors of ducks, geese, swans, and

screamer The screamers are three South American bird species placed in family Anhimidae. They were thought to be related to the Galliformes because of similar bills, but are more closely related to ducks (family Anatidae),Todd, F. (1991) and most closel ...

s, 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 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 con ...

( 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" comes ...

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 In phylogenetics, the crown group or crown assemblage is a collection of species composed of the living representatives of the collection, the most recent common ancestor of the collection, and all descendants of the most recent common ancestor. ...

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, Aythyini,

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 s ...

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 The screamers are three South American bird species placed in family Anhimidae. They were thought to be related to the Galliformes because of similar bills, but are more closely related to ducks (family Anatidae),Todd, F. (1991) and most closel ...

Wetmore & Miller 1926 *** Genus †'' Chaunoides'' de Alvarenga 1999 *** Family Anhimidae Stejneger 1885 (screamers) **** Genus '' Anhima'' (Linnaeus 1766) Brisson 1760 (horned screamer) **** Genus '' Chauna'' Illiger 1811 ** Suborder Anseres (true Anseriformes) *** Superfamily Anseranatoidea **** Family

Sclater 1880 ***** Genus †'' Anserpica'' Mourer-Chauviré, Berthet & Hugueney 2004 ***** Genus †'' Eoanseranas'' Worthy & Scanlon 2009 (hand's dawn magpie goose) ***** Genus †'' Anatalavis'' 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 waterbird ...

Wetmore 1926 (wading-"geese") ***** Genus †'' Teviornis'' Kuročkin, Dyke & Karhu 2002 ***** Genus †'' Telmabates'' Howard 1955 ***** Genus †'' Headonornis'' (Lydekker 1891) Harrison & Walker 1976 ***** Genus †'' Presbyornis'' Wetmore 1926 ***** Genus †'' Wilaru'' 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'' 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 ...

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 Sout ...

'' Owen 1866 (New Zealand geese) ****** Genus †'' Afrocygnus'' Louchart et al. 2005 ****** Genus '' Coscoroba'' (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 know ...

'' Latham 1801 (Cape Barren goose) ****** Genus '' Cygnus'' Garsault 1764 ****** Genus ''

Branta The black geese of the genus ''Branta'' are waterfowl belonging to the true geese and swans subfamily Anserinae. They occur in the northern coastal regions of the Palearctic and all over North America, migrating to more southernly coasts in ...

'' 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 P ...

'' 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 ...

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

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

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

'' Worthy et al. 2007 (St. Bathans shelduck) ****** Genus †'' Nannonetta'' Campbell 1979 ****** Genus †'' Pleistoanser'' Agnolín 2006 ****** Genus '' Plectropterus'' (Linnaeus 1766) (spur-winged goose) ****** Genus '' Merganetta'' Gould 1842 (Torrent duck) ****** Genus '' Chloephaga'' Eyton 1838 ****** Genus '' Neochen'' 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'' 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 th ...

'' 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 speci ...

'' 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 yo ...

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'' Boie 1828 ****** Genus '' Callonetta'' Delacour 1936 (ringed teal) ****** Genus '' Chenonetta'' 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'' (Ménétries 1832) Reichenbach 1853 (marbled duck) ****** Genus '' Asarcornis'' (Müller 1842) Salvadori 1895 (white-winged duck) ****** Genus '' Netta'' Kaup 1829 ****** Genus ''

Lophonetta The crested duck or South American crested duck (''Lophonetta specularioides'') is a species of duck native to South America, the belonging to the monotypic genus ''Lophonetta''. It is sometimes included in ''Anas'', but it belongs to a South Am ...

'' (King 1828) Riley 1914 (crested duck) ****** Genus '' Amazonetta'' (Gmelin 1789) von Boetticher 1929 (Brazilian teal) ****** Tribe Oxyurini Swainson 1831 (stiff-tailed ducks and allies) ****** Genus †''

Anabernicula ''Anabernicula'' is an extinct genus of waterfowl related to shelducks that existed from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene. Four species have been described: ''A. minuscula'', ''A. gracilenta'', ''A. oregonensis'', and ''A. robusta''. Reference ...

'' 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'' 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 La ...

'' 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 t ...

'' 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 qui ...

'' Leach 1819 (eiders) ******* Genus '' Melanitta'' Boie 1822 (scoters) ******* Genus '' Bucephala'' Baird 1858 ******* Genus '' Mergellus'' Selby 1840 (Smew) ******* Genus '' Lophodytes'' (Linnaeus 1758) Reichenbach 1853 (hooded merganser) ******* Genus ''

Mergus ''Mergus'' is the genus of the typical mergansers , fish-eating ducks in the subfamily Anatinae. The genus name is a Latin word used by Pliny the Elder and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified waterbird. The common merganser (''Merg ...

'' Linnaeus 1758 non Brisson 1760 ****** Tribe Anatini Vigors 1825 sensu Livezey 1996 (dabbling ducks and moa-nalos) ******* Genus †'' Matanas'' 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'' (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 ...

'' Boie 1822 ****** Tribe Aythyini 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 M ...

'' 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 ''Garganornis'' (meaning "Gargano bird") is an extinct genus of enormous flightless anatid waterfowl from the Late Miocene of Gargano, Italy. The genus contains one species, ''G. ballmanni'', named by Meijer in 2014. Its enormous size is thought ...

'' 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 ''Chenoanas'' is an extinct genus of duck from Eurasia. It is known from three species, ''C. sansaniensis'', ''C. deserta'' and ''C. asiatica''. The latter two species were named by Nikita Zelenkov. See also *2018 in paleontology Flora Pla ...

'' Zelenkov 2012 * †'' Cygnopterus alphonsi'' Cheneval 1984 on ''Cygnavus senckenbergi'' Mlíkovský 2002">Cygnavus_senckenbergi.html" ;"title="on '' on ''Cygnavus senckenbergi'' Mlíkovský 2002* †'' Helonetta brodkorbi'' Emslie 1992 * †'' Loxornis clivus'' Ameghino 1894 * †''Mioquerquedula">Mioquerquedula minutissima'' Zelenkov & Kuročkin 2012 [''Anas velox">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">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">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'' Olson & Wetmore 1976 In addition, a considerable number of mainly Late Cretaceous and

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

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, vi ...

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'' (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">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"> 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 Creta ...

Evolution

Taxonomy

Systematics

Phylogeny

Molecular studies

See also

References

Cited texts