5/15/2023 0 Comments Canadian blue mountain duck![]() The blue duck feeds almost entirely on aquatic invertebrate larvae. It is difficult to find, but not particularly wary when located. It is a powerful swimmer even in strong currents, but is reluctant to fly. It is a rare duck, holding territories on fast flowing mountain rivers. This species is an endemic resident breeder in New Zealand, nesting in hollow logs, small caves and other sheltered spots. Problems playing this file? See media help. However, the populations were defined as distinct subspecies by the International Ornithological Congress in 2022, based on strong genetic divergence and some plumage differences. Prior to 2022, the North Island and South Island whio were considered distinct but were not distinguished as subspecies they were, however, treated as separate management units. malacorhynchos (Gmelin, JF, 1789) – west South Island (New Zealand) hymenolaimus Mathews, 1937 – central, south North Island (New Zealand) Other names may be known by are Mountain Duck or Blue Mountain Duck. It is commonly known in New Zealand English by its Māori name Whio, pronounced / ˈ f i ɔː/ FEE-oh, which is an onomatopoeic rendition of the males' call. ![]() It was formerly thought to be related to the shelduck tribe. As of 2013, it was commonly listed as incertae sedis but likely within the Anatinae and allied to the Anatini. Its taxonomic relationships with other waterfowl species remains uncertain DNA analysis has placed it as a sister to the South American dabbling ducks (Anatini), but with no close relative. The specific epithet malacorhynchos is also from Ancient Greek and combines malakos meaning "soft" with rhunkhos meaning "bill". The genus name combines the Ancient Greek humēn, humenos meaning "skin" or "membrane" with laimos meaning "throat". The blue duck is now the only species placed in the genus Hymenolaimus that was introduced specifically for the species by George Robert Gray in 1843. He coined the binomial name Anas malacorhynchos and cited the earlier works. When in 1789 the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin revised and expanded Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae he included the blue duck and placed it with all the other ducks in the genus Anas. Latham used the English name, the "soft-billed duck". A specimen was described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his A General Synopsis of Birds. In 1777 both Cook and the naturalist Georg Forster mentioned the blue duck in their separate accounts of the voyage. The whio is depicted on the reverse side of the New Zealand $10 banknote.Ĭaptain James Cook saw the blue duck in Dusky Sound, South Island, New Zealand, on his second voyage to the south Pacific. Its exact taxonomic status is still unresolved, but it appears to be most closely related to the tribe Anatini, the dabbling ducks. It is the only member of the genus Hymenolaimus. The blue duck or whio ( Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos) is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae endemic to New Zealand.
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