Mionetta fossil map
Where fossils of Mionetta have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 30 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 30 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 | 33.9–15.98 million years ago (Rupelian to Burdigalian) |
| Periods | Paleogene, Neogene |
| Family | Anatidae |
| Named by | Livezey and Martin 1988 |
| Fossil records | 4 occurrences at 3 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | France, Czech Republic, Kazakhstan |
| Rock formations | txn:39624, Chelkarnura |
About Mionetta
Mionetta is an extinct genus of duck from the Late Oligocene to Middle Miocene of Western and Central Europe (France, Germany and the Czech Republic), and possibly also Central Asia (Kazakhstan). Many of the species were originally assigned to the genus Anas. It is among the best and earliest known fossil members of the family Anatidae, with the type species M. blanchardi known from thousands of specimens collected from the Early Miocene (Aquitanian) Saint-Gérand-le-Puy locality. Diagnostic characters include features of the humerus bone. In the original 1988 description of the genus it was placed as one of two genera in the extinct subfamily Dendrocheninae alongside Dendrochen. A 2008 study considered it to be a basal member of the subfamily Oxyurinae, while a 2022 study placed in a basal position in Anatidae outside the split between Oxyurinae, Anatinae and Anserinae, though more closely related to these subfamilies than to Dendrocygna.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Mionetta (revision 1355291358), 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: Q21367688.
