iBlack geese
Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae Subfamily: Anserinae Genus: Branta Scopoli, 1769
Species
see text. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2108x1405, 1989 KB) NOTE: THE FILENAME IS INCORRECT. This is Branta leucopsis. ... Binomial name Branta leucopsis ((Bechstein, 1803)) The Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis) belongs to the genus Branta of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey Anser species. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Myxozoa (slime animals) Superphylum Deuterostomia (blastopore becomes anus) Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... {{{subdivision_ranks}}} See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... Families Anhimidae Anseranatidae Anatidae †Cnemiornithidae †Dromornithidae †Presbyornithidae The order Anseriformes contains about 150 species of birds in three families: the Anhimidae (the screamers), Anseranatidae (the Magpie-goose), and the Anatidae, which includes over 140 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans. ... Subfamilies Dendrocygninae Thalassorninae Anserinae Stictonettinae Plectropterinae Tadorninae Anatinae Aythyinae Merginae Oxyurinae and see text Anatidae is the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swan. ... Genera Cygnus Coscoroba Anser (including Chen) Branta Cereopsis The Anserinae is a subfamily of the waterfowl family Anatidae. ... Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (June 3, 1723 - May 8, 1788) was an Italian-Austrian physician and naturalist. ... 1769 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ...
Synonyms
Nesochen Salvadori, 1895 In scientific classification, synonymy is the existence of multiple systematic names to label the same organism. ... Tommaso Adlard Salvadori (September 30, 1835 - October 9, 1923) was an Italian zoologist. ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

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. A self-sustaining population derived from introduced birds of one species is also found in New Zealand; these are the only true geese ever to occur in the Southern Hemisphere in a wild (or rather feral in this case) state. In biology, a genus (plural genera) is a taxonomic grouping. ... Falcated Duck at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands centre, Gloucestershire, England Wildfowl or waterfowl, also waterbirds, is the collective term for the approximately 147 species of swans, geese and ducks, classified in the order Anseriformes, family Anatidae. ... Genera see text Goose (plural geese) is the general English name for a considerable number of birds, belonging to the familyAnatidae. ... Genera and species Cygnus Bechstein 1803 C. cygnus C. buccinator C. columbianus C. (c. ... ... Genera Cygnus Coscoroba Anser (including Chen) Branta Cereopsis The Anserinae is a subfamily of the waterfowl family Anatidae. ... The Palearctic or Palaearctic is one of the eight ecozones dividing the Earth surface (see map). ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... // Long-distance land bird migration Many species of land migratory birds migrate very long distances, the most common pattern being for birds to breed in the temperate or arctic northern hemisphere and winter in warmer regions, often in the tropics or the temperate zones of the southern hemisphere. ... Map of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of islands that stretches 2,400 km in a northwesterly direction from the southern tip of the Island of Hawai‘i. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... The Southern Hemisphere is the half of a planets surface (or celestial sphere) that is south of the equator (the word hemisphere literally means half ball). On Earth it contains five continents (Antarctica, Australia, most of South America, parts of Africa and Asia) as well as four oceans (South... A feral horse (an American mustang) in Wyoming A feral animal or plant is one that has escaped from domestication and returned, partly or wholly, to its wild state. ...

The black geese derive their vernacular name for the prominent areas of black coloration found in all species. They can be distinguished from all other true geese by their legs and feet, which are black or very dark grey. Furthermore, they have black bills and large areas of black on the head and neck, with white (ochre in one species) markings that can be used to tell apart most species^[1]. As with most geese, their undertail and uppertail coverts are white. They are also on average smaller than other geese, though some very large taxa are known, which rival the Swan Goose and the Black-necked Swan in size. A taxon (plural taxa), or taxonomic unit, is a grouping of organisms (named or unnamed). ... Binomial name Anser cygnoides (Linnaeus, 1758) The Swan Goose, Anser cygnoides, is a large goose breeding in Mongolia and eastern Russia. ... Binomial name Cygnus melanocoryphus (Molina, 1782) The Black_necked Swan (Cygnus melanocoryphus) is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. ...

The Eurasian species of black geese have a more coastal distribution compared to the grey geese which share the same general area of occurrence, not being found far inland even in winter (except for occasional stray birds or individuals escaped from captivity). This does not hold true for the American and Pacific species, in whose ranges grey geese are for the most part absent. The term Eurasian refers to the cultural ties and linkages between those in a wider view of the Eurasian continent, centering on the Silk Road, and Central Asia. ...

Systematics

6-8 living species of black geese are known. In addition, one species has been described from subfossil remains found in the Hawaiian Islands, where it became extinct in prehistoric times. Another undescribed prehistoric species from the Big Island of Hawai‘i was extremely large and flightless; it is tentatively assigned to this genus due to being very peculiar. It is fairly certain that at least another species of this genus awaits discovery on the Big Island, judging from the facts that at least one species of Branta was found on every major Hawaiian island, and that remains of such birds have not been intentionally searched for on the Big Island (but see below). In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... Subfossil is attributed to bones or whole skeletons (and, in general all materials having living parts that can become fossil) whose fossilization process is not complete, either for lack of time or because the condition in which bones were buried were non optimal for fossilization. ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... The Island of HawaiÊ»i (called the Big Island or HawaiÊ»i proper) is one of eight main islands that make up the U.S. State of HawaiÊ»i. ... ...

The species are:

• Brent Goose, Branta bernicla
  • Pale-bellied Brent Goose, Branta (bernicla) hrota
  • Black Brant, Branta (bernicla) nigricans
• Barnacle Goose, Branta leucopsis
• Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
• Cackling Goose, Branta hutchinsii - formerly included in B. canadensis
  • Bering Cackling Goose, Branta hutchinsii asiatica - a doubtfully distinct subspecies; extinct (c.1929)
• Red-breasted Goose, Branta ruficollis
• Hawaiian Goose or Nēnē, Branta sandvicensis
• Nēnē-nui or Woods-walking Goose, Branta hylobadistes (prehistoric)

Similar but hitherto undescribed remains are known from on Kaua‘i and O‘ahu.

Tentatively assigned to Branta: Binomial name Branta bernicla (Linnaeus, 1758) The Brent Goose (Branta bernicla) is a goose of the genus Branta, known in North America as Brant. ... Black Brant is a Canadian rocket. ... Binomial name Branta leucopsis ((Bechstein, 1803)) The Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis) belongs to the genus Branta of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey Anser species. ... Binomial name Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) Subspecies (Dusky Canada Goose) (Vancouver Canada Goose) (Lesser Canada Goose) (Moffitts Canada Goose) (Giant Canada Goose) (Interior Canada Goose) (Atlantic Canada Goose) The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis), colloquially Greater Canada in North America, belongs to the Branta genus of geese, which contains species... Binomial name Branta hutchinsii (Richardson, 1832) Subspecies (Richardsons Cackling Goose) (Bering Cackling Goose) - extinct (Aleutian Cackling Goose) (Taverners Cackling Goose) (Small Cackling Goose) Synonyms Branta canadensis hutchinsii Branta canadensis asiatica Branta canadensis leucopareia Branta canadensis taverneri Branta canadensis minima The Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii), colloquially Lesser or Small... In zoology, as in other branches of biology, subspecies is the rank immediately subordinate to a species. ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Binomial name Branta ruficollis (Pallas, 1769) The Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis) is a goose of the genus Branta, closely related to the Brent Goose (Branta bernicla). ... Binomial name Branta sandvicensis (Vigors, 1833) The Hawaiian Goose or Nēnē, Branta sandvicensis, is a species of goose endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. ... Binomial name Branta hylobadistes Storrs L. Olson & Helen F. James, 1991 The Nēnē-nui (Hawaiʻian: Great Nēnē) or Woodwalking Goose (translation of Branta hylobadistes) is an extinct species of goose that once inhabited Maui and possibly (or closely related species) Kauaʻi, Oʻahu and perhaps Moloka... For a list of early taxa of birds known only from fossils, see Fossil birds. ... Kaua‘i (usually called Kauai outside the Hawaiian Islands, pronounced kawa-ee) is the oldest and fourth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands, having an area of 1,430. ... Oahu (usually Oahu outside Hawaiian and Hawaiian English), the Gathering Place, is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous island in the State of Hawaii. ...

• Giant Hawai‘i Goose, ?Branta sp. (prehistoric)

The relationships of the enigmatic Wetmore's Goose (Geochen rhuax) to this genus are unresolved. It was another prehistoric Big Island form and remains known only from some parts of a single bird's skeleton, which were much damaged because the bird apparently died in a volcanic eruption, with the bones being found in an ash-filled depression under a lava flow. For a list of early taxa of birds known only from fossils, see Fossil birds. ... A human skeleton - (endoskeleton) In biology, the skeleton or skeletal system is the biological system providing physical support in living organisms. ... Volcano 1. ... Look up lava, Aa, pahoehoe in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Similarly, two bones found on O‘ahun indicate the erstwhile present of a gigantic waterfowl on this island. Its relationships relative to this genus and the moa-nalos, enormous goose-like dabbling ducks, are completely undeterminable at present. Genera Chelychelynechen Thambetochen Ptaiochen The Moa-nalos are an extinct group of aberrant ducks that used to live on the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific. ... Genera Pteronetta Cairina Aix Nettapus Anas Callonetta Chenonetta Amazonetta See also Diving duck The dabbling ducks are a group of eight genera and about 55 species of ducks, including some of the most familiar Northern Hemisphere species. ...

Several fossil species of Branta have been described. Since the true geese are hardly distinguishable by anatomical features, the allocation of these to this genus is somewhat uncertain. A number of supposed prehistoric grey geese have been described from North America, partially from the same sites as species assigned to Branta. Whether these are corrctly assigned - meaning that the genus Anser was once much more widespread than today and that it coexisted with Branta in freshwater habitat which it today does only most rarely - is not clear. An ammonite fossil Eocene fossil fish of the genus Knightia Petrified wood fossil formed through permineralization. ... Anatomical drawing of the human muscles from the Encyclopédie. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...

• Branta woolfendeni (Big Sandy Late Miocene of Wickieup, USA)
• Branta dickeyi (Late Pliocene - Late Pleistocene of W USA)
• Branta esmeralda (Esmeralda Early Pliocene)
• Branta howardae (Ricardo Early Pliocene)
• Branta propinqua (Middle Pleistocene of Fossil Lake, USA)
• Branta hypsibata (Pleistocene of Fossil Lake, USA)

References

• Carboneras, Carles (1992): Family Anatidae (Ducks, Geese and Swans). In: del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew & Sargatal, Jordi (editors): Handbook of Birds of the World, Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks: 536-629. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN 84-87334-10-5

Handbook of Birds of the World vol. ...

Footnotes

1. ^ The Nēnē, which is aberrant in many respects, has no white on the head or neck and fairly little black, being quite similar to the Swan Goose in the color pattern of these areas. The latter species, a grey goose, also has a black bill, but its reddish-orange legs indicate its actual relationships.