Kingdom Animalia Order Anseriformes Subfamily Anatinae Higher classification Anatinae | Phylum Chordata Family Anatidae Scientific name Nettapus Rank Genus | |
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Lower classifications Cotton pygmy goose, African pygmy goose, Green pygmy goose | ||
The pygmy geese are a group of very small "perching ducks" in the genus Nettapus which breed in the Old World tropics. They are the smallest of all wildfowl. As the "perching ducks" are a paraphyletic group, they need to be placed elsewhere. The initially assumed relationship with the dabbling duck subfamily Anatinae has been questioned, and it appears they form a lineage in an ancient Gondwanan radiation of waterfowl, within which they are of unclear affinities. An undescribed fossil species from the late Hemphillian (5.0–4.1 mya) of Jalisco, central Mexico, has also been identified from the distal end of a tarsometatarsus. It is only record of the genus in the New World.
There are three extant species in the genus:
Their habitat is still freshwater lakes, where these neat ducks feed on seeds and other vegetation, especially water lilies.
Pygmy geese have short bills, rounded heads and short legs. They nest in tree holes.
African pygmy geese caught with a trailcam
