White-winged duck | |
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At Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park, North Carolina, United States | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Anseriformes |
Family: | Anatidae |
Genus: | Asarcornis Salvadori, 1895 |
Species: | A. scutulata
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Binomial name | |
Asarcornis scutulata (Müller, 1842)
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Synonyms | |
Cairina scutulata |
The white-winged duck or white-winged wood duck (Asarcornis scutulata) is a large species of duck, formerly placed in the genus Cairina with the Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) and allied with the dabbling ducks. However, mtDNA cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 sequence analysis indicate that the anatomical similarity to the Muscovy duck is deceiving and that the species is appropriately placed in a monotypic genus, as Asarcornis scutulata, which is evolutionarily closer to the redhead (Aythya americana, one of the diving ducks).[3][4]