Smew

Smew
Male (top) and female smew
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Mergellus
Species:
M. albellus
Binomial name
Mergellus albellus
Range of M. albellus
  Breeding
  Non-breeding
  Passage
Synonyms
  • Mergus albellus Linnaeus, 1758
  • Mergus minutus Linnaeus, 1758

The smew (Mergellus albellus) is a species of duck and is the only living member of the genus Mergellus. Mergellus is a diminutive of Mergus and albellus is from Latin albus "white". This genus is closely related to Mergus and is sometimes included in it, though it might be closer to the goldeneyes (Bucephala).[2] The smew has hybridized with the common goldeneye (B. clangula).[3]

A seaduck fossil from the Middle Miocene shows that birds similar to smew existed up to 13 million years ago. The extant species dates back to the Late Pleistocene.

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Mergellus albellus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22680465A85991357. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22680465A85991357.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Livezey1986 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Madge was invoked but never defined (see the help page).