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Anseriformes
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), a member of the Anatidae
Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus), a member of the Anatidae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Subclass: Neornithes
Infraclass: Galloanserae
Order: Anseriformes
Wagler, 1831
Families

Anhimidae
Anseranatidae
Anatidae
For fossil families, see text

The order Anseriformes contains about 150 living species of birds in three extant families: the Anhimidae (the screamers), Anseranatidae (the Magpie-goose), and the Anatidae, which includes over 140 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans. The Whooper Swan ( Cygnus cygnus) is a large Northern Hemisphere Swan. Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. Modern birds (subclass Neornithes) are the members of class Aves that have survived into recent times and have coexisted with Humans Modern birds are Most or all Birds collectively referred to as fowl belong to one of two orders namely the gamefowl or landfowl ( Galliformes) and the waterfowl Johann Georg Wagler ( March 28, 1800 - August 23, 1832) was a German Herpetologist. In Biological classification, family ( Latin The Screamers are a small family of Birds the Anhimidae For a long time they were thought to be related to the Galliformes because of similar bills The Magpie-goose, Anseranas semipalmata, is a Waterbird Species found in Australia and New Guinea. FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. The Screamers are a small family of Birds the Anhimidae For a long time they were thought to be related to the Galliformes because of similar bills The Magpie-goose, Anseranas semipalmata, is a Waterbird Species found in Australia and New Guinea. The Magpie-goose, Anseranas semipalmata, is a Waterbird Species found in Australia and New Guinea. See also UK Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust USA Ducks Unlimited For duck as a food see Duck (food; for other meanings see Duck (disambiguation. Goose (plural geese) is the English name for a considerable number of Birds belonging to the family Anatidae. Swans are Birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and Ducks Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in

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).

Contents

Evolution

The earliest known Anseriform is the recently discovered Vegavis, which lived during the Cretaceous period[1]. Vegavis is a Genus of extinct Bird that lived during the Late Cretaceous ( Maastrichtian stage of Antarctica, some The Cretaceous (kriːˈteɪʃəs, usually abbreviated 'K' for its German translation "Kreide" is a geologic period and system, reaching from the end of It is thought that the Anseriformes originated when the original Galloanserae (the group to which Anseriformes and Galliformes belong) split into the two main lineages. Most or all Birds collectively referred to as fowl belong to one of two orders namely the gamefowl or landfowl ( Galliformes) and the waterfowl Galliformes are an order of Birds containing turkeys, Grouse, Chickens Quails and Pheasants More than 250 The extinct dromornithids represent early offshoots of the anseriform line, possibly derived from screamer-like ancestors, and so maybe Gastornis (if it is an Anseriform). Dromornithidae — the dromornithids — were a family of large flightless Australian Birds of the Pleistocene Epoch The Screamers are a small family of Birds the Anhimidae For a long time they were thought to be related to the Galliformes because of similar bills Gastornis (ɡæˈstɔrnɨs meaning "Gaston's bird" is an extinct Genus of large Flightless bird that lived during the late Paleocene 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: geese graze on plants, the saw-billed ducks catch fish; even the screamers, which have bills that seem on first sight more like those of the game birds, still have vestigal lamellae. Goose (plural geese) is the English name for a considerable number of Birds belonging to the family Anatidae. The Screamers are a small family of Birds the Anhimidae For a long time they were thought to be related to the Galliformes because of similar bills The prehistoric wading presbyornithids and the huge and possibly carnivorous dromornithids were even more bizarre. Presbyornithidae were a family of Waterbirds with an apparently global distribution that lived until the Earliest Oligocene, but are now Extinct A carnivore (ˈkɑrnɪvɔər meaning 'meat eater' ( Latin carne meaning 'flesh' and vorare meaning 'to devour' is any animal with a diet consisting Dromornithidae — the dromornithids — were a family of large flightless Australian Birds of the Pleistocene Epoch

Systematics

The Anseriformes and the Galliformes (pheasants etc) are the most primitive neognathous birds, and should follow ratites and tinamous in bird classification systems. Galliformes are an order of Birds containing turkeys, Grouse, Chickens Quails and Pheasants More than 250 A ratite is any of a diverse group of large Flightless birds of Gondwanan origin most of them now extinct The tinamous are one of the most ancient groups of Bird, members of a South American Bird family of about 47 species in 9 genera

Anatidae 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

Crested Screamer (Chauna torquata)
Crested Screamer (Chauna torquata)
Magpie Goose (Anseranas semipalmata), sole survivng member of a Mesozoic lineage
Magpie Goose (Anseranas semipalmata), sole survivng member of a Mesozoic lineage
Reconstruction of Dromornis stirtoni, a mihirung
Reconstruction of Dromornis stirtoni, a mihirung

The fossil Gastornithidae (diatrymas) are also occasionally included herein as a family. Dromornithidae — the dromornithids — were a family of large flightless Australian Birds of the Pleistocene Epoch FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. Presbyornithidae were a family of Waterbirds with an apparently global distribution that lived until the Earliest Oligocene, but are now Extinct FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. Gastornithiformes are an order of prehistoric Birds The birds from this group lived from the Paleocene to the Eocene and were spread out across Asia

Some fossil anseriform taxa not assignable with certainty to a family are:

In addition, a considerable number of mainly Late Cretaceous and Paleogene fossils have been described where it is uncertain whether or not they are anseriforms. The Paleogene (alternatively Palaeogene) is a geologic period and system that began 65 This is due to the fact that almost all orders of aquatic birds living today either originated or underwent a major radiation 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. An adaptive radiation is a rapid Evolutionary radiation characterized by an increase in the morphological and ecological diversity of a single rapidly diversifying lineage

Footnotes

  1. ^ Clarke et al. (2005)

References

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