Smew

Also known as Mergus albellus, Mergellus albellus

The smew (Mergellus albellus) is a species of duck and is the only living member of the genus Mergellus. The genus is closely related to Mergus and is sometimes included in it; genetic studies have shown that it is the sister taxon to Mergus and Lophodytes. The smew has hybridised with the common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula).

OverviewAI-generated

The smew (*Mergellus albellus*) is a species of bird in the family Anatidae and order Anseriformes. Classified under the phylum Chordata and class Aves, it is an accepted taxon described by Linnaeus in 1758. The species is not extinct and has an IUCN conservation status of Least Concern, as assessed in 2025.

Physically, the smew has a wingspan of 62, a mass of 652, and a litter size of 7.9. Its egg incubation period is 27 days, and maximum longevity in the wild is 10 years. The bird inhabits freshwater environments and is endemic to the Maguri Motapung Beel. Its taxon range includes the Nanling Mountains. Common names for the species include Zwergsäger, Serreta chica, and bec de serra petit.

Synthesized by Vinony from 34 facts across 6 sources: Wikidata, Encyclopedia of Life, iNaturalist, WoRMS, IUCN Red List, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Least Concern

smew

Species

PhylumChordata
ClassAves
OrderAnseriformes
FamilyAnatidae

Habitatfreshwater

Observations8,750

Maximum longevity: 10 years (wild)

via IUCN

~4 min read

Encyclopedic overview

9 sections

Contents

Taxonomy
Etymology
Description
Distribution
Ecology
Fossil history
Gallery
References
External links

==Taxonomy== The smew was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Mergus albellus. Linnaeus based his account on the description published in 1757 by another Swedish naturalist, Fredrik Hasselqvist, who collected one in Smyrna (now İzmir) in Turkey. Linnaeus specified the type locality as Europe but this was restricted to the Mediterranean near İzmir in Turkey on the basis of Hasselqvist's travels. The smew is now the only living species placed in the genus Mergellus that was introduced in 1840 by the English naturalist Prideaux Selby. The species is monotypic, with no subspecies recognised.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Smew” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.