Here is an interesting topic, it has been long debated that the Muscovy duck's name is incorrect and that it is more closely related to a goose or it deserves to be in it's own group of Anatidae. Several birds have had incorrect or misleading names given to them and ducks are one of them, some examples of ducks being named incorrectly is the Blue-Winged Goose, African Pygmy-Goose, and Egyptian Goose. All 3 of these species have Goose in their name but all 3 of them are actually ducks. Is it possible that the Muscovy duck has duck in its name but is actually a goose, or something new all together? The answer, unfortunately for some, is no and this thread will explain why.
If you have kept Muscovy ducks and Mallard derived ducks you will probably notice more than a few differences between them, such as, the sound they make, how they act, what their eggs look like, how long it takes them to hatch, and the Muscovy has those nasty lumps all over its face known as caruncle. Well because of these differences some people have argued that the Muscovy is its own species and it's not a duck at all, some say it is a goose, and others claim that while it was being domesticated it was cross bred with a goose. Well people who argue this are partially correct, the Muscovy duck is a separate species from the Mallard duck, the Muscovy is in the genus Cairina while the Mallard is in the genus Anas. Now the Mallard definitely has more ducks in its genus than the Muscovy, with a massive 45 species of ducks in the genus, the genus Anas certainly has the most species of ducks in it but that does not mean it is the owner of the title Duck, that title is shared between 41 genera of Anatidae.
What is a duck anyways? Well there are two groups of ducks, dabblers and divers, to be a duck you need to be in one of these groups. Both the Muscovy and the Mallard are dabbling ducks. The way ducks fly is unique amongst Anatidae, they can take off almost vertically from land and water, unlike swans and geese who usually need a long runway to get into the air, this is true for the mallard and wild Muscovy. Sound is another thing that can help you identify a duck, males and females usually have a different voice, females are usually louder. There are several other features that determine weather or not something is a duck but these are some of the most noticeable.
The Muscovy duck is picked on because it is one of a kind in domestic ducks, the only duck that was not domesticated from the mallard. Because both mallards and Muscovies are so popular as pets and livestock they are compared the most out of the duck species and this is why people started to argue that the Muscovy was not a duck at all, it is totally different from the hundreds of other breeds of domestic ducks. Well the Muscovy might be one of a kind when talking about domestic ducks but it is not when you include the 140 other wild duck species then the Muscovy does not seem so odd, now the spot light is on other ducks like the Ruddy duck from the genus Oxyura, a bird with a small body, a stiff pointy tail with not curls, a large head with a big blue bill, a bird who dives deep under the water to hunt for food, a bird that floats low in the water, a bird that has a penis longer than its own body that is covered in spiky barbs that kill his rivals sperm. When you look at the other genera of ducks you will realize that they are not all clones of the mallard, all of them are pretty unique and have lots of similarities and differences between each other.
So to sum things up, Muscovy ducks and Mallard ducks are both different species from a different genus that have very different appearances and attitudes but they are still both ducks from the family Anatidae. The Muscovy duck was not incorrectly named it has every trait that is required to be a duck and so it is one.
If anyone is interested, here is a list of all the genera of ducks and how many species are in each one-
Anas: 45 species (including the Mallard)
Nettapus: 3 species
Melanitta: 6 species
Tadorna: 7 species
Chenonetta: 1 species
Aythya: 12 species
Bucephala: 3 species
Dendrocygna: 8 species
Heteranetta: 1 species
Hymenolaimus: 1 species
Oxyura: 5 species
Cyanogen: 1 species
Mergus: 4 species
Amazonetta: 1 species
Sarkidiornis: 1 species
Somateria: 3 species
Lophonetta: 1 species
Alopochen: 1 species
Tachyeres: 4 species
Stictonetta: 1 species
Histrionicus: 1 species
Pteronetta: 1 species
Lophodytes: 1 species
Chloephaga: 1 species
Clangula: 1 species
Aix: 2 species
Marmaronetta: 1 species
Nomonyx: 1 species
Cairina: 2 species (including Muscovy)
Obiziura:1 species
Neochen: 1 species
Malacorhynchus: 1 species
Rhodonessa: 1 species
Netta: 3 species
Callonetta: 1 species
Salvadorina: 1 species
Mergellus: 1 species
Speculanas: 1 species
Polysticta: 1 species
Merganetta: 1 species
Thalassornis: 1 species
If you have kept Muscovy ducks and Mallard derived ducks you will probably notice more than a few differences between them, such as, the sound they make, how they act, what their eggs look like, how long it takes them to hatch, and the Muscovy has those nasty lumps all over its face known as caruncle. Well because of these differences some people have argued that the Muscovy is its own species and it's not a duck at all, some say it is a goose, and others claim that while it was being domesticated it was cross bred with a goose. Well people who argue this are partially correct, the Muscovy duck is a separate species from the Mallard duck, the Muscovy is in the genus Cairina while the Mallard is in the genus Anas. Now the Mallard definitely has more ducks in its genus than the Muscovy, with a massive 45 species of ducks in the genus, the genus Anas certainly has the most species of ducks in it but that does not mean it is the owner of the title Duck, that title is shared between 41 genera of Anatidae.
What is a duck anyways? Well there are two groups of ducks, dabblers and divers, to be a duck you need to be in one of these groups. Both the Muscovy and the Mallard are dabbling ducks. The way ducks fly is unique amongst Anatidae, they can take off almost vertically from land and water, unlike swans and geese who usually need a long runway to get into the air, this is true for the mallard and wild Muscovy. Sound is another thing that can help you identify a duck, males and females usually have a different voice, females are usually louder. There are several other features that determine weather or not something is a duck but these are some of the most noticeable.
The Muscovy duck is picked on because it is one of a kind in domestic ducks, the only duck that was not domesticated from the mallard. Because both mallards and Muscovies are so popular as pets and livestock they are compared the most out of the duck species and this is why people started to argue that the Muscovy was not a duck at all, it is totally different from the hundreds of other breeds of domestic ducks. Well the Muscovy might be one of a kind when talking about domestic ducks but it is not when you include the 140 other wild duck species then the Muscovy does not seem so odd, now the spot light is on other ducks like the Ruddy duck from the genus Oxyura, a bird with a small body, a stiff pointy tail with not curls, a large head with a big blue bill, a bird who dives deep under the water to hunt for food, a bird that floats low in the water, a bird that has a penis longer than its own body that is covered in spiky barbs that kill his rivals sperm. When you look at the other genera of ducks you will realize that they are not all clones of the mallard, all of them are pretty unique and have lots of similarities and differences between each other.
So to sum things up, Muscovy ducks and Mallard ducks are both different species from a different genus that have very different appearances and attitudes but they are still both ducks from the family Anatidae. The Muscovy duck was not incorrectly named it has every trait that is required to be a duck and so it is one.
If anyone is interested, here is a list of all the genera of ducks and how many species are in each one-
Anas: 45 species (including the Mallard)
Nettapus: 3 species
Melanitta: 6 species
Tadorna: 7 species
Chenonetta: 1 species
Aythya: 12 species
Bucephala: 3 species
Dendrocygna: 8 species
Heteranetta: 1 species
Hymenolaimus: 1 species
Oxyura: 5 species
Cyanogen: 1 species
Mergus: 4 species
Amazonetta: 1 species
Sarkidiornis: 1 species
Somateria: 3 species
Lophonetta: 1 species
Alopochen: 1 species
Tachyeres: 4 species
Stictonetta: 1 species
Histrionicus: 1 species
Pteronetta: 1 species
Lophodytes: 1 species
Chloephaga: 1 species
Clangula: 1 species
Aix: 2 species
Marmaronetta: 1 species
Nomonyx: 1 species
Cairina: 2 species (including Muscovy)
Obiziura:1 species
Neochen: 1 species
Malacorhynchus: 1 species
Rhodonessa: 1 species
Netta: 3 species
Callonetta: 1 species
Salvadorina: 1 species
Mergellus: 1 species
Speculanas: 1 species
Polysticta: 1 species
Merganetta: 1 species
Thalassornis: 1 species
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