Mareca is a genus or subgenus of ducks in the family Anatidae that includes the wigeons.
The genus Mareca was introduced by English naturalist James Francis Stephens in 1824. The type species is the Eurasian wigeon. The name of the genus is from the Portuguese word Marreco for a small duck. The species now placed in this genus were formerly placed in the genus Anas. A molecular phylogentic study comparing mitochondrial DNA sequences published in 2009 found that the genus Anas, as then defined, was not monophyletic. Based on the published phylogeny, the genus Anas was split into four monophyletic genera with five extant species moved into the resurrected genus Mareca.
Species
The genus Mareca contains five extant species and one extinct species:
| Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gadwall Male
|
Mareca strepera (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Europe, Asia and central North America |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC |
| Falcated duck Male
|
Mareca falcata (Georgi, 1775) |
Eastern Asia | Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC |
| Eurasian wigeon Male
|
Mareca penelope (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Europe and Asia |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC |
| Chiloé wigeon Male
|
Mareca sibilatrix (Poeppig, 1829) |
Southern South America |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC |
| American wigeon Male
|
Mareca americana (Gmelin, JF, 1789) |
North of Canada and Alaska and also in the Interior West through Idaho, Colorado, the Dakotas, and Minnesota, as well as eastern Washington and Oregon |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC |
| †Amsterdam wigeon | Mareca marecula (Olson & Jouventin, 1996) |
Île Amsterdam in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands | Size: Habitat: Diet: |
EX |
Phylogeny
Cladogram based on the analysis of Gonzalez and colleagues published in 2009.
