Darter

Darter Temporal range: Early Miocene – Recent 18–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Male African darter Anhinga rufa
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Suliformes
Family:	Anhingidae Reichenbach, 1849[1]
Genus:	Anhinga Brisson, 1760
Type species
Plotus anhinga Linnaeus, 1766
Species
Anhinga anhinga Anhinga melanogaster Anhinga rufa Anhinga novaehollandiae (but see text)
World distribution of the family Anhingidae
Synonyms
Family-level: Anhinginae Ridgway, 1887 Plotidae Plottidae Plotinae Rafinesque, 1815 Plottinae Ptynginae[verification needed] Poche, 1904 Genus-level: Plottus Scopoli, 1777 (unjustified emendation) Plotus Linnaeus 1766 Ptinx[verification needed] Bonaparte, 1828 Ptynx Möhring 1752 (pre-Linnean)

The darters, anhingas, or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae, which contains a single genus, Anhinga. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and classified as near-threatened by the IUCN. The term snakebird is usually used without any additions to signify whichever of the completely allopatric species occurs in any one region. It refers to their long thin neck, which has a snake-like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged, or when mated pairs twist it during their bonding displays. "Darter" is used with a geographical term when referring to particular species. It alludes to their manner of procuring food, as they impale fishes with their thin, pointed beak. The American darter (A. anhinga) is more commonly known as the anhinga. It is sometimes called "water turkey" in the southern United States; though the anhinga is quite unrelated to the wild turkey, they are both large, blackish birds with long tails that are sometimes hunted for food.^[2]