Kingdom Animalia Subfamily Aythyinae Higher classification Diving duck Rank Genus | Family Anatidae Scientific name Aythya Phylum Chordata Order Anseriformes | |
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Lower classifications Tufted duck, Common pochard, Greater scaup, Ferruginous duck, Lesser scaup | ||
Baer s pochard aythya baeri extinct bird in the wild
Aythya is a genus of diving ducks. It has twelve described species. The name Aythya comes from the Ancient Greek word αυθυια, aithuia, which may have referred to a sea-dwelling duck or an auklet.
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Aythya shihuibas was described from the Late Miocene of China. Zelenkov (2016) transferred the species Anas denesi Kessler (2013), known from the late Miocene of Hungary, to the genus Aythya. An undescribed prehistoric species is known only from Early Pleistocene fossil remains found at Dursunlu, Turkey; it might however be referrable to a paleosubspecies of an extant species considering its age (see also Greater scaup).
The Miocene "Aythya" arvernensis is now placed in Mionetta, while "Aythya" chauvirae seems to contain the remains of two species, at least one of which does not seem to be a diving duck.
Aythya species
Phylogeny
Based on the Taxonomy in Flux from John Boyd's website.