Rhodonessa caryophyllacea Latham, 1790:866
Pink-headed duck, Gulab-sir (Hindi)
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Anas caryophyllacea Latham, 1790:866; Netta caryophyllacea Latham, 1790:866
Conservation Status
Extinct
Last record: 1930's (wild); 1935 (wild) (Kittelberger et al., 2024); 1949 (Martin et al., 2023); c.1945 in captivity
IUCN RedList status: Critically Endangered
A last recorded date in the wild of 1949 is often given (e.g. Tordoff et al. 2008). However, no information can be found regarding exactly who may have made this sighting, nor under which circumstances, or exactly where the sighting was made. It is simply asserted, and no reason is given why we should prefer this date as opposed to the many others proposed both before and since. Sporadic reports of the species continue to be made up until the present, several of which have been made by knowledgeable ornithologists.
Distribution
Bangadesh, India, Myanmar & Nepal
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
1 specimen is in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University:
1 specimen is in the National Museum of Natural History, Leiden:
1 specimen is in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh:
Z.1876.48.378 (male)
3 specimens are in the Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven:
YPM ORN 042022 (male)
YPM ORN 042023 (female)
YPM ORN 097867 (male)
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Latham, John. (1790). Index ornithologicus, sive Systema Ornithologiae; complectens avium divisionem in classes, ordines, genera, species, ipsarumque varietates: adjectis synonymis, locis, descriptionibus, &c.. London: Leigh & Sotheby.
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