Branta 454524 219789550 2008-06-16T21:50:41Z Tigershrike 357169 {{Taxobox | name = Black geese | image = BrantaCanadensisLawn.jpg | image_width = 240px | image_caption = [[Barnacle Goose]] (''Branta leucopsis'') | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[bird|Aves]] | ordo = [[Anseriformes]] | familia = [[Anatidae]] | subfamilia = [[Anserinae]] | genus = '''''Branta''''' | genus_authority = [[Giovanni Antonio Scopoli|Scopoli]], [[1769]] | subdivision_ranks = [[Species]] | subdivision = ''[[Branta bernicla]]''<br /> ''[[Branta canadensis]]''<br /> ''[[Branta hutchinsii]]''<br /> ''[[Branta leucopsis]]''<br /> ''[[Branta ruficollis]]''<br /> ''[[Branta sandvicensis]]''<br /> and see [[#Systematics|text]] | synonyms = ''Nesochen'' <small>[[Tommaso Salvadori|Salvadori]], [[1895]]</small> }} The '''black geese''' of the [[genus]] ''Branta'' are [[waterfowl]] belonging to the [[goose|true geese]] and [[swan]]s [[subfamily]] [[Anserinae]]. They occur in the northern coastal regions of the [[Palearctic]] and all over [[North America]], [[bird migration|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. 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<ref> 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.</ref>. As with most geese, their undertail and uppertail coverts are white. They are also on average smaller than other geese, though some very large [[taxon|taxa]] are known, which rival the [[Swan Goose]] and the [[Black-necked Swan]] in size. 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. ==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 [[Hawaii (island)|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). 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'' ([[Late Quaternary prehistoric birds|prehistoric]]) :Similar but hitherto undescribed remains are known from on [[Kauaʻi]] and [[Oʻahu]]. Tentatively assigned to ''Branta'': * [[Giant Hawaiʻi Goose]], ?''Branta'' sp. ([[Late Quaternary prehistoric birds|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 [[volcano|volcanic eruption]], with the bones being found in an ash-filled depression under a [[lava]] flow. A presumed relation to the [[shelduck]]s (Short 1970) was generally considered highly unlikely due to that group's [[biogeography]], but more recently{{Fact|date=February 2007}}, bones of a shelduck-like bird have been found on Kaua‘i. Whether this latter anatid was indeed a shelduck is presently undetermined. Similarly, two bones found on [[Oʻahu]] indicate the erstwhile present of a gigantic waterfowl on this island. Its relationships relative to this genus and the [[moa-nalo]]s, enormous goose-like [[dabbling duck]]s, are completely undeterminable at present. ===Early fossil record=== Several [[fossil]] species of ''Branta'' have been described. Since the true geese are hardly distinguishable by [[anatomy|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 correctly assigned - meaning that the genus ''[[Anser (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. Especially in the case of ''B. dickeyi'' and ''B. howardae'', doubts have been expressed about its correct generic assignment{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. *''Branta woolfendeni'' (Big Sandy Late Miocene of Wickieup, USA) *''[[Branta thessaliensis]]'' (Late Miocene of Perivolaki, Greece) *''Branta dickeyi'' (Late Pliocene - Late Pleistocene of W USA)<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1; Auk87:537; Condor26:178; Condor46:25 --> *''Branta esmeralda'' (Esmeralda Early Pliocene);<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1; Condor36:178; Condor46:25 --> *''Branta howardae'' (Ricardo Early Pliocene)<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1; Condor33:30;33:70;36:178 --> *''Branta propinqua'' (Middle Pleistocene of Fossil Lake, USA)<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1; Auk87:537 --> *''Branta hypsibata'' (Pleistocene of Fossil Lake, USA)<!-- AmMusNovit2369:1; Auk87:537; Condor46:25 --> The former ''"Branta" minuscula'' is now placed with the prehistoric American shelducks, ''[[Anabernicula]]''<!-- AmMusNovit2200:1 -->. On the other hand, a goose fossil from the Early-Middle Pleistocene of [[El Salvador]] is highly similar to ''Anser'' and given its age and [[biogeography]] it is likely to belong to that genus or ''Branta''<ref>Cisneros (2005)</ref>. ==Footnotes== {{Reflist}} ==References== {{commonscat}} * {{aut|Carboneras, Carles}} (1992): Family Anatidae (Ducks, Geese and Swans). ''In:'' {{aut|del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew & Sargatal, Jordi (eds.)}}: ''[[Handbook of Birds of the World]]'' (Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks): 536-629, plates 40-50. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. <small>ISBN 84-87334-10-5</small> * {{aut|Cisneros, Juan Carlos}} (2005): New Pleistocene vertebrate fauna from El Salvador. [English with Portuguese abstract] ''Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia'' '''8'''(3): 239-255. [http://www.sbpbrasil.org/revista/edicoes/8_3/cisneros.pdf PDF fulltext] * {{aut|Short, Lester L.}} (1970): A new anseriform genus and species from the Nebraska Pliocene. ''[[Auk (journal)|Auk]]'' '''87'''(3): 537-543. [http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v087n03/DJVU/P0537-P0543.djvu DjVu fulltext] [http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v087n03/p0537-p0543.pdf PDF fulltext] [[Category:Branta|*]] [[Category:genera of birds]] [[Category:Geese]] [[bg:Черни гъски]] [[cs:Berneška]] [[da:Rajgås]] [[de:Meergänse]] [[et:Lagle]] [[es:Barnacla]] [[eo:Branto]] [[fr:Branta]] [[fy:Seeguozzen]] [[it:Branta]] [[lt:Berniklės]] [[hu:Branta]] [[ja:コクガン属]] [[no:Branta]] [[ru:Чёрные казарки]]