| Musk duck | |
|---|---|
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| Male during breeding season | |
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| Female | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Genus: | Biziura |
| Species: | B. lobata
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| Binomial name | |
| Biziura lobata (Shaw, 1796)
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| Distribution of the musk duck | |
The musk duck (Biziura lobata) is a highly aquatic, stiff-tailed duck native to southern Australia. It is the only living member of the genus Biziura. An extinct relative, the New Zealand musk duck or de Lautour's duck (B. delautouri), once occurred on New Zealand, but is only known from prehistoric subfossil bones. It was about 8% longer than the living species, with a particularly large head.[2]
This animal derives its common name from the peculiar musky odour it emanates during the breeding season. Musk ducks are moderately common through the Murray-Darling and Cooper Creek basins, and in the wetter, fertile areas in the south of the continent: the southwest corner of Western Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania.
- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Biziura lobata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22679830A92831295. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679830A92831295.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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