Steamer duck
| Steamer ducks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Falkland Steamer Duck, Tachyeres brachypterus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Genus: | Tachyeres Owen, 1875 |
| Species | |
|
Tachyeres patachonicus | |
The steamer ducks are a genus (Tachyeres) of ducks in the family Anatidae. All of the four species occur in South America, and all except the Flying Steamer Duck are flightless; even this one species capable of flight rarely takes to the air.[1] The genus name Tachyeres, "having fast oars" or "fast rower", comes from Ancient Greek ταχυ- "fast" + ἐρέσσω "I row (as with oars)".[citation needed] The common name "steamer ducks" derives because, when swimming fast, they flap their wings into the water as well as using their feet, creating an effect like a paddle steamer.[citation needed] They can be aggressive and are capable of chasing off predators like petrels.
They are usually placed in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae. However, mtDNA sequence analyses of the cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 genes indicate that Tachyeres rather belongs into a distinct clade of aberrant South American dabbling ducks, which also includes the Brazilian, the Crested, and the Bronze-winged Ducks.[2]
There are four species:[1]
- Flying Steamer Duck Tachyeres patachonicus
- Fuegian Steamer Duck Tachyeres pteneres
- Chubut Steamer Duck Tachyeres leucocephalus
- Falkland Steamer Duck Tachyeres brachypterus
The Chubut Steamer Duck was only described in 1981.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Livezey, Bradley C.; Humphrey, Philip Strong (1992). Taxonomy and Identification of Steamer-Ducks (Anatidae: Tachyeres). Monograph of the Museum of Natural History, the University of Kansas. No. 8. Lawrence, Kansas: Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas. ISBN 0893380423.
- ↑ Johnson, Kevin P.; Sorenson, Michael D. (1999). "Phylogeny and biogeography of dabbling ducks (genus Anas): a comparison of molecular and morphological evidence" (PDF). Auk 116 (3): 792–805. doi:10.2307/4089339.
External links
Media related to Tachyeres at Wikimedia Commons