| Magpie-geese | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Modernmagpie goose,Anseranas semipalmata | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Superfamily: | Anseranatoidea Sclater, 1880 |
| Family: | Anseranatidae Sclater, 1880 |
| Type species | |
| Anseranas semipalmata Latham, 1798 | |
| Genera | |
Anseranatidae, the magpie-geese, is a biological family ofwaterbirds. The only living species, themagpie goose, is a resident breeder in northern Australia and in southernNew Guinea.
This family is placed in theorderAnseriformes, having the characteristic bill structure, but is considered to be distinct from the other families in thistaxon. The related and extant families,Anhimidae (screamers) andAnatidae (ducks,geese andswans), contain all the other taxa.[1]
A cladistic study of the morphology of waterfowl found that the magpie goose was an early and distinctive offshoot, diverging after screamers and before all other ducks, geese and swans.[2]
This family is quite old, aliving fossil, having apparently diverged before theCretaceous–Paleogene extinction event – the relativeVegavis iaai lived some 68–67million years ago. Thefossil record is limited, nonetheless. The enigmatic genusAnatalavis (HornerstownLate Cretaceous orEarly Paleocene of New Jersey, USA –London ClayEarly Eocene ofWalton-on-the-Naze, England) is sometimes considered to be the earliest known anseranatid. AnotherPaleogene bird genus sometimes considered an anseranatid isAnserpica, from theLate Oligocene ofBilly-Créchy (France).[3] The earliest known member of the group in Australia isEoanseranas handae. It is represented by fossils found in the lateOligoceneCarl Creek Limestone ofQueensland. Additional fossils from North America and Europe suggest that the family was spread across the globe during the latePaleogene period.[4]
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