Magpie-goose
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| Magpie-goose | ||||||||||||||
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| Anseranas semipalmata Latham, 1798 |
The Magpie-goose, Anseranas semipalmata, is a waterbird found in Australia and New Guinea. It is a unique member of the bird order Anseriformes, and arranged in a separate family and genus.
The Magpie-goose is a resident breeder in northern Australia, where it is not threatened and has a controlled hunting season when numbers are large, and in southern New Guinea. It is found in a variety of open wet areas such as floodplains and swamps. It is fairly sedentary apart from some movement during the dry season.
Its nest is on the ground, and a typical clutch is 5-14 eggs. Some males mate with two females.
Magpie-geese are unmistakable birds with their black and white plumage and yellowish legs. The feet are only partially webbed, although the Magpie-goose will feed on vegetable matter in the water as well as on land. Males are larger than females. Unlike true geese, the moult is gradual, and there is no flightless period.
They are colonial breeders and are gregarious outside of the breeding season when they can form large and noisy flocks of up to a few thousand individuals. The voice is a loud honking.
This species is placed in the order Anseriformes, having the characteristic bill structure, but is considered to be distinct from the other species in this taxon. The related and extant families, Anhimidae (screamers) and Anatidae (ducks, geese and swans), contain all the other taxa. The Magpie-goose is contained in a monotypic arrangement: the genus Anseranas and family Anseranatidae.[2]
This family is quite old, having apparently diverged before the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event[citation needed]. The fossil record is limited, nonetheless, with an undescribed species from the Late Oligocene of Billy-Créchy (France) being known (Hugueney et al, 2003). The enigmatic genus Anatalavis (Hornerstown Late Cretaceous/Early Paleocene of New Jersey, USA - London Clay Early Eocene of Walton-on-the-Naze, England) is sometimes considered to be the earliest known anseranatid.
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[edit] Conservation Status
[edit] State of Victoria, Australia
- The Magpie Goose is listed as threatened on the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.[3] Under this Act, an Action Statement for the recovery and future management of this species has not been prepared.[4]
- On the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, this species is listed as near threatened.[5]
[edit] Gallery
 Magpie Goose, Australia |
 Magpie Geese, Kimberlies, Western Australia |
[edit] References
- (French) Hugueney, Marguerite; Berthet, Didier; Bodergat, Anne-Marie; Escuillié, François; Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile & Wattinne, Aurélia (2003): La limite Oligocène-Miocène en Limagne-changements fauniques chez les mammifères, oiseaux et ostracodes des différents niveaux de Billy-Créchy (Allier, France). Geobios 36: 719-731 [Article in French with English abstract] doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2003.01.002 (HTML abstract)
- Madge, Steve & Burn, Hilary (1987): Wildfowl : an identification guide to the ducks, geese and swans of the world. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 00-7470-2201-1
- Pringle, J. D. (1985): The Waterbirds of Australia. National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife, Australian Museum/Angus and Robertson, Sydney.
- ^ BirdLife International (2004). Anseranas semipalmata. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- ^ Myers, P.,; R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. (2008). Family Anseranatidae (magpie goose). The Animal Diversity Web (online). University of Michigan. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
- ^ Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria
- ^ Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria
- ^ Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (2007). Advisory List of Threatened Vertebrate Fauna in Victoria - 2007. East Melbourne, Victoria: Department of Sustainability and Environment, 15. ISBN 978-1-74208-039-0.
[edit] External links
