Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Subsectio: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Euornithes
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Ornithurae
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Galloanseres
Ordo: Anseriformes
Familia: Anatidae
Subfamilia: Anatinae
Genus: Nettapus
Species: N. auritus - N. coromandelianus - N. pulchellus
Name
Nettapus Brandt, 1836
References
Descr.IconesAnim.Ross.Nov.Av. fasc.1 p.5
Vernacular names
English: Pygmy geese
Esperanto: Pigmeanseroj
français: Anserelles
中文: 棉凫属
The pygmy geese are a group of very small "perching ducks" in the genus Nettapus which breed in the Old World tropics. They are the smallest of all wildfowl. As the "perching ducks" are a paraphyletic group,[1] they need to be placed elsewhere. The initially assumed relationship with the dabbling duck subfamily Anatinae has been questioned, and it appears they form a lineage in an ancient Gondwanan radiation of waterfowl, within which they are of unclear affinities.[2] An undescribed fossil species from the late Hemphillian (5.0–4.1 mya) of Jalisco, central Mexico, has also been identified from the distal end of a tarsometatarsus. It is only record of the genus in the New World.[3]
The genus Nettapus was erected by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich von Brandt in 1836.[4] The word Nettapus is from the Ancient Greek nētta "duck" and pous "foot". It was thought that the type species, the African pygmy goose (Nettapus auritus), possessed the feet and body of a duck and the neck of a goose.[5]
There are three extant species in the genus:[6]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Nettapus auritus | African pygmy goose | Sub-Saharan Africa |
 |
Nettapus coromandelianus | Cotton pygmy goose | northern Australasia and Southeast Asia |
 |
Nettapus pulchellus | Green pygmy goose | northern Australia and southern New Guinea |
Pygmy geese have short bills, rounded heads and short legs. They nest in tree holes.
References
Livezey, Bradley C. (1986). "A phylogenetic analysis of recent anseriform genera using morphological characters" (Full text). Auk. 103 (4): 737–754.
Sraml, M.; Christidis, L.; Easteal, S.; Horn, P.; Collet, C. (1996). "Molecular Relationships Within Australasian Waterfowl (Anseriformes)". Australian Journal of Zoology. 44 (1): 47–58. doi:10.1071/ZO9960047.
Steadman, D.; Carranza-Castaneda, O. (2006). "Early Pliocene to early Pleistocene birds from central Mexico". Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Geología and Centro de Geociencias, Publicacion Especial. 4: 61–71. ISBN 970-32-3895-5.
Brandt, Johann Friedrich von (1836). Descriptiones et icones animalium rossicorum novorum vel minus rite cognitorum (in Latin). Fasciculus 1: Aves. Jussu et sumptibus Academiae Scientiarum. p. 5.
Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 269. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Screamers, ducks, geese & swans". World Bird List Version 7.3. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
Further reading
Madge, Steve; Burn, Hilary (1987). Wildfowl : an identification guide to the ducks, geese and swans of the world. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 190–193. ISBN 0-7470-2201-1.
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