Magpie Goose (Anseranas semipalmata) Fact Sheet: Taxonomy & History

Taxonomy

• A goose-like bird (Frith and Davies 1961; Huang and Ke 2016; Carboneras and Kirwan 2017; Sun et al. 2017)
  • Only species in Family Anseranatidae
    • Genetically distinct from Family Anatidae (geese, ducks, swans)
      • Not a “true goose”
  • Taxonomic families in Order Anseriformes (according to Sun et al. 2017)
    • Anseranatidae
      • Magpie Goose
        • One species
      • This family was historically classified as Subfamily Anseranatinae (Delacour 1954)
    • Anhimidae
      • Screamers
        • Three species
    • Dendrocydnidae
      • Whistling Ducks
        • About 10 species
    • Anatidae
      • Geese, ducks, and swans
        • More than 100 species
• First scientific description (Olsen 2010)
  • John Latham, 1798
  • Used a painting by Thomas Watling and observation notes by John White
  • Called this bird the “semi-palmated duck”

Nomenclature

• Genus: Anseranas
  • From the Latin anser, meaning “goose,” and anas, meaning “duck” (Simpson 1987)
• Species: A. semipalmata
  • From the Latin semi, meaning “half,” and palma, meaning “palmed” or “webbed” (Simpson 1987)
  • Refers to the partial webbing of the Magpie Goose’s feet (Johnsgard 1961)

Synonyms

• Anas semipalmata (Latham, 1798)
• Anas melanoleuca (Gould 1848)

Common names

• Magpie Goose, Magpie-Goose (English) (ITIS 2017)
  • Pied Goose (Frith and Davies 1961; Frith 1967)
  • Semipalmated Goose (Gould 1848; Frith 1967)
  • Black and white Goose (Gould 1848; Frith 1967)
• Canaroie semipalmée (French) (Carboneras and Kirwan 2017)
• Spaltfußgans (German) (Carboneras and Kirwan 2017)
• Ganso urraca, gans overo o pintado (Spanish) (Johnsgard 1978; Carboneras and Kirwan 2017)

Fossil history and evolutionary relationships

• Anseriformes and Galliformes diverged in the Late Cretaceous (Mesozoic) about 70 mya (Livezey 1997; Sun et al. 2017)
  • See Supporting Information of Sun et al. (2017); S4 Figure and S5 Figure
  • See Jarvis et al. (2014) for detailed divergence times of these phylogenetic branches
• Anseranas was an early offshoot of Anatidae (Huang and Ke 2016)
  • Diverged approximately 57 mya (Paleocene) (Sun et al. 2017)
  • “Major stage in the evolution of the typical waterfowl from a gallinaceous ancestor” (Livezey 1997)
• Anseranatidae and Anahimidae diverged about 44 mya (mid-Eocene) (Sun et al. 2017)
• Fossils of Anseranatidae (Worthy and Scanlon 2009)
  • Discovered in North America, Europe, and Australia
  • Oldest fossils from 25 mya (Oligo-Miocene)
• Fossils from southeastern Australia are rare (Worthy 2008)

Closest known extant relatives

• Screamers (Chauna and Anhima spp.) (Huang and Ke 2016; Sun et al. 2017)

History

• Key scientific insights
  • 1798
    • First scientific description by John Latham (Olsen 2010)
      • See "Taxonomy" in Taxonomy and Nomenclature
  • Late 1830s
    • Studied by John Gould (Gould 1848)
      • Gould noted heavy consumption by settlers and importance as food for Aboriginal people in northern Australia
  • 1955
    • Behavior and ecology studies began
      • Purpose: to investigate the potential impact of Magpie Geese on the new rice industry in northern Australia (Frith and Davies 1961; Davies 1963)
    • Little scientific study of Magpie Geese before this period, apart from taxonomic work (Frith and Davies 1961)
• Exploration and settlement
  • Early European explorers were fascinated by the Magpie Goose’s unusual windpipe (Gould 1848; Olsen 2010)
  • Early-to-mid 1800s
    • Much wetland habitat in coastal, southeastern Australia drained for agriculture and development (Nye et al. 2007)
      • Steep contraction of the range of the Magpie Goose in southeastern Australia due to wetland habitat loss
  • 1845
    • Hunting of Magpie Geese provided essential food when explorers attempted to cross the Australian continent (Olsen 2010)
  • 1877
    • European settlement of Australia began (Nye et al. 2007)
    • Magpie Geese hunted and sold at market (Nye et al. 2007)
      • Eggs also taken

Culture and folklore

• Non-Aboriginal cultures of Australia
  • Magpie Geese have iconic value for residents and visitors of Northern Territory (Delaney et al. 2009)
  • Hunting of Magpie Geese is a tradition for some people in Northern Territory (Delaney et al. 2009)
    • European settlers have hunted since early 1900s
• Aboriginal cultures of Australia
  • Highly valued species (Bayliss and Ligtermoet 2017)
    • Iconic, totemic animal (Delaney et al. 2009)
      • Often depicted in paintings and portrayed in ceremonies
      • Feathers used in artefacts
  • Important food resource (Frith 1967; Berndt et al. 1993, except as noted)
    • North Australia (Delaney et al. 2009, except as noted)
      • Hunted in family groups, often for several days or weeks
      • Birds sold or bartered on informal market
      • Historical hunting methods
        • Throwing sticks, causing birds to fall during flight (Gould 1848; Frith 1967)
        • Today, use guns
      • Eggs collected for consumption
        • Traditionally collected by wading or by poling canoe/raft during late wet season (Bayliss and Ligtermoet 2017
    • South Australia (Berndt et al. 1993)
      • Taken throughout the year
  • Rituals and customs
    • Protocols exist to ensure good harvest the following year (Bayliss and Ligtermoet 2017)
      • Hunting practices
      • Cooking methods
      • Sharing of meat and eggs
    • Puberty ritual
      • Among the Yaraldi of South Australia, eating Magpie Geese is forbidden to young boys (Berndt et al. 1993)
        • Part of the narambi taboo
• Aboriginal cultures of New Guinea
  • Taken by Aboriginal tribes during bird migration to New Guinea (Frith 1967)
  • Hunted with spears (Todd 1979)

Books

• Children’s books
  • The Waterdragon and the Magpie Goose — Gary Fleming (1997)
  • Land of the Magpie Goose People — Percy Trezise (1997)

Television and film

• Documentaries
  • Faraway Look: The Land of the Magpie Goose

Art

• Rock art
  • Example (Cobden et al. 2017)
  • Depicted as smaller than emus and bustards (Welch 2016)
    • Sometimes with a head shape representative of this species
• Early illustrations
  • “Semipalmated Goose with the Trachea” — John Latham (1801)
  • Magpie Goose, Anseranas semipalmata — John Gould (1848)
• Paintings and illustrations
  • “Magpie Geese in Flight” — Holly Kempe
  • “Magpie Geese” — George Milpurrurru
  • “Magpie Goose with Yam” — Norman Lane (2008)
• Photography
  • Getty Images
• Sculpture
  • Magpie Geese art made from recycled materials (ghost nets)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Anseriformes (Wagler, 1831) — ducks, geese, swans, screamers, waterfowl

Family: Anseranatidae (Sclater, 1880) — Magpie Goose

Genus: Anseranas (Lesson, 1828)

Species: Anseranas semipalmata (Latham, 1798) — Magpie Goose

Sources: Worthy (2016); Integrated Taxonomic Information System (2017)

Magpie Goose artwork.

West Lane street art, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

Image credit: © Geoff Whalan via Flickr. Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND 2.0.