Dendrocygna fossil map
Where fossils of Dendrocygna have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Prehistoric birds |
|---|---|
| Lived | 23.04 million years ago to the present (Aquitanian to Holocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Anatidae |
| Named by | Swinson 1837 |
| Fossil records | 27 occurrences at 22 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Argentina, United States, Barbados, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Cook Islands, Madagascar … |
| Rock formations | txn:39624, Nuapua, Tamiami, Pampean, Allingham |
About Dendrocygna
The whistling ducks or tree ducks are a subfamily, Dendrocygninae, of the duck, goose and swan family of birds, Anatidae. In other taxonomic schemes, they are considered a separate family, Dendrocygnidae. Some taxonomists list only one genus, Dendrocygna, which contains eight living species, and one undescribed extinct species from Aitutaki of the Cook Islands, but other taxonomists also list the white-backed duck (Thalassornis leuconotus) under the subfamily.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Whistling duck (revision 1360639478), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q1006681.
