Smew
Sign in to saveThe 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).
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The smew is a small diving duck species and the sole living member of its genus, making it scientifically distinct from other closely related ducks like the mergansers. It is notable for occasionally interbreeding with the common goldeneye, which provides insights into the evolutionary relationships among duck species.
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Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Mergellus
- Mass
- +568
- Image
- Mergellus albellus, Killingworth Lake, Northumberland 1.jpg
Show 4 more facts
- P105
- species
- P141
- Least Concern
- P9714
- Nanling Mountains
via Wikidata · CC0
Article
9 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Etymology
- Description
- Distribution
- Ecology
- Fossil history
- Gallery
- References
- External links
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).
==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.