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Anser (genus)
Encyclopedia
- See also Grey Goose (disambiguation)Grey Goose (disambiguation)Grey Goose may refer to:* Grey goose, a bird* Grey Goose , a brand of vodka distilled in Cognac, France from French wheat* "Grey Goose" , a traditional American folk song, recorded by Lead Belly and later by British Sea Power as a b-side to their 2005 single "Please Stand Up"* Grey Goose Bus Lines,...
The waterfowl
Waterfowl
Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Anser includes all grey geese and sometimes the white geese. It belongs to the true geese
Goose
The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....
and swan
Swan
Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
subfamily (Anserinae
Anserinae
The Anserinae is a subfamily in the waterfowl family Anatidae. It includes the swans and true geese. Under alternative systematical concepts , it is split into two subfamilies, the Anserinae containing the geese , while the Cygninae contain the swans.A number of other waterbirds, mainly related to...
). The genus has a Holarctic
Holarctic
The Holarctic ecozone refers to the habitats found throughout the northern continents of the world as a whole. This region is divided into the Palearctic, consisting of Northern Africa and all of Eurasia, with the exception of Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and the Nearctic,...
distribution, with at least one species breeding in any open, wet habitats in the subarctic
Subarctic
The Subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Alaska, Canada, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and northern Mongolia...
and cool temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
regions of the Northern Hemisphere in summer. Some also breed further south, reaching into warm temperate regions. They mostly migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
south in winter, typically to regions in the temperate zone between the January 0 °C (32 °F) to 5 °C (41 °F) isotherms.
The genus contains ten living species, which span nearly the whole range of true goose shapes and sizes. The largest is the Greylag Goose
Greylag Goose
The Greylag Goose , Anser anser, is a bird with a wide range in the Old World. It is the type species of the genus Anser....
at 2.5–4.1 kg (5.5–9 lb) weight, and the smallest is the Ross's Goose at 1.2–1.6 kg (2.6–3.5 lb). All have legs and feet that are pink, or orange, and bills that are pink, orange, or black. All have white under- and upper-tail coverts, and several have some extent of white on their heads. The neck, body and wings are grey or white, with black or blackish primary—and also often secondary—remiges (pinions). The closely related "black" geese in the genus Branta
Branta
The black geese of the genus Branta are waterfowl belonging to the true geese and swans subfamily Anserinae. They occur in the northern coastal regions of the Palearctic and all over North America, migrating to more southernly coasts in winter, and as resident birds in the Hawaiian Islands...
differ in having black legs, and generally darker body plumage.
Living species and taxonomy
- Swan GooseSwan GooseThe Swan Goose is a rare large goose with a natural breeding range in inland Mongolia, northernmost China, and southeastern Russia. It is migratory and winters mainly in central and eastern China...
Anser cygnoides – sometimes separated in Cygnopsis - Taiga Bean Goose Anser fabalis
- Tundra Bean Goose Anser serrirostris
- Pink-footed GoosePink-footed GooseThe Pink-footed Goose is a goose which breeds in eastern Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard. It is migratory, wintering in northwest Europe, especially Great Britain, the Netherlands, and western Denmark...
Anser brachyrhynchus - Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons
- Greenland White-fronted Goose Anser (albifrons) flavirostris
- Lesser White-fronted GooseLesser White-fronted GooseThe Lesser White-fronted Goose is a goose closely related to the larger White-fronted Goose .It breeds in northernmost Asia, but it is a scarce breeder in Europe. There is a re-introduction scheme in Fennoscandia....
Anser erythropus - Greylag GooseGreylag GooseThe Greylag Goose , Anser anser, is a bird with a wide range in the Old World. It is the type species of the genus Anser....
Anser anser - Bar-headed GooseBar-headed GooseThe Bar-headed Goose is a goose which breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes and winters in South Asia, as far south as peninsular India. It lays three to eight eggs at a time in a ground nest....
Anser indicus – sometimes separated in Eulabeia
The following white geese are commonly separated as the genus Chen
Chen (genus)
The white geese are a small group of waterfowl which are united in the genus or subgenus Chen, in the true geese and swan subfamily Anserinae. They breed on subarctic areas of North America and around the Bering Strait, migrating south in winter....
, with one of them sometimes split off in the genus Philacte. They cannot be distinguished anatomically
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
from Anser geese although there is some evidence of a distinct lineage in evaluations of molecular data. While some ornithological
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
works traditionally include Chen within Anser, the AOU
American Ornithologists' Union
The American Ornithologists' Union is an ornithological organization in the USA. Unlike the National Audubon Society, its members are primarily professional ornithologists rather than amateur birders...
and the IUCN are notable authorities that treat them as separate.
- Snow GooseSnow GooseThe Snow Goose , also known as the Blue Goose, is a North American species of goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The genus of this bird is disputed...
Chen caerulescens - Ross's GooseRoss's GooseThe Ross's Goose is a North American species of goose.The American Ornithologists' Union places this species and the other two "white" geese in the genus Chen rather than the more traditional "grey" goose genus Anser.This goose breeds in northern Canada, mainly in the Queen Maud Gulf Migratory...
Chen rossii - Emperor GooseEmperor GooseThe Emperor Goose is a species of goose. It breeds around the Bering Sea, mostly in Alaska, USA, but also in Kamchatka, Russia...
Chen canagicus – sometimes separated in Philacte
Some authorities also treat some subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
as distinct species (notably Tundra Bean Goose) or as likely future species splits (notably Greenland White-fronted Goose).
Fossil record
Numerous fossilFossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
species have been allocated to this genus. As the true geese are near-impossible to assign osteologically
Osteology
Osteology is the scientific study of bones. A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and archeology, osteology is a detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, morphology, function, disease, pathology, the process of ossification , the resistance and hardness of bones , etc...
to genus, this must be viewed with caution. It can be assumed with limited certainty that European fossils from known inland sites belong into Anser. As species related to the Canada Goose
Canada Goose
The Canada Goose is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body....
have been described from the Late Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
onwards in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
too, sometimes from the same localities as the presumed grey geese, it casts serious doubt on the correct generic assignment of the supposed North American fossil geese. The Early Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
Branta howardae is one of the cases where doubts have been expressed about its generic assignment. Similarly, Heterochen = Anser pratensis seems to differ profoundly from other species of Anser and might be placed into a different genus; alternatively, it might have been a unique example of a grey goose adapted for perching in trees.
- Anser atavus (Middle/Late Miocene of Bavaria, Germany) - sometimes in Cygnus
- Anser arenosus (Big Sandy Late Miocene of Wickieup, USA)
- Anser arizonae (Big Sandy Late Miocene of Wickieup, USA)
- Anser cygniformis (Late Miocene of Steinheim, Germany)
- Anser oeningensis (Late Miocene of Oehningen, Switzerland)
- Anser thraceiensis (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Trojanovo, Bulgaria)
- Anser pratensis (Valentine Early Pliocene of Brown County, USA) - possibly separable in Heterochen
- Anser pressus (Glenns Ferry Late Pliocene of Hagerman, USA) - formerly Chen pressa
- Anser thompsoni (Pliocene of Nebraska)
- Anser azerbaidzhanicus (Early? Pleistocene of Binagady, Azerbaijan)
The Maltese
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
swan Cygnus equitum was occasionally placed into Anser, and Anser condoni is a synonym of Cygnus paloregonus. A goose fossil from the Early-Middle Pleistocene of El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
is highly similar to Anser. Given its age it is likely to belong to an extant genus, and biogeography
Biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...
indicates Branta as other likely candidate.
?Anser scaldii (Late Miocene of Antwerp, Belgium) may be a shelduck
Tadorninae
The Tadorninae is the shelduck-sheldgoose subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as the geese and swans....
.
Relationship with humans and conservation status
Two species in the genus are of major commercial importance, having been domesticated as poultryPoultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
: European domesticated geese
Domesticated goose
Domestic geese are domesticated Grey geese kept as poultry for their meat, eggs, and down feathers since ancient times.-Origins and characteristics:...
are derived from the Greylag Goose, and Chinese and some African domesticated geese are derived from the Swan Goose
Swan Goose
The Swan Goose is a rare large goose with a natural breeding range in inland Mongolia, northernmost China, and southeastern Russia. It is migratory and winters mainly in central and eastern China...
.
Most species are hunted to a greater or lesser extent; in some areas, some populations are endangered by over-hunting. Most notably, the Lesser White-fronted Goose
Lesser White-fronted Goose
The Lesser White-fronted Goose is a goose closely related to the larger White-fronted Goose .It breeds in northernmost Asia, but it is a scarce breeder in Europe. There is a re-introduction scheme in Fennoscandia....
is listed by IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
as Vulnerable
Vulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
throughout its range, and due to overhunting and rampant habitat destruction, the population of the Swan Goose
Swan Goose
The Swan Goose is a rare large goose with a natural breeding range in inland Mongolia, northernmost China, and southeastern Russia. It is migratory and winters mainly in central and eastern China...
is on the verge of collapsing, leading to a listing as Endangered.
Other species have benefited from reductions in hunting since the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with most species in western Europe and North America showing marked increases in response to protection. In some cases, this has led to conflicts with farming, when large flocks of geese graze crops in the winter.