Nettapus fossil map
Where fossils of Nettapus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 5 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 5 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 | 5.333–3.6 million years ago (Zanclean) |
| Periods | Neogene |
| Family | Anatidae |
| Named by | Brandt 1836 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Australia |
| Rock formations | Allingham |
About Nettapus
Pygmy geese are a group of very small "perching ducks" in the genus Nettapus which breed in the Old World tropics. They are the smallest of all wildfowl. As the "perching ducks" are a paraphyletic group, they need to be placed elsewhere. The initially assumed relationship with the dabbling duck subfamily Anatinae has been questioned, and it appears they form a lineage in an ancient Gondwanan radiation of waterfowl, within which they are of unclear affinities. An undescribed fossil species from the late Hemphillian (5.0–4.1 mya) of Jalisco, central Mexico, has also been identified from the distal end of a tarsometatarsus. It is only record of the genus in the New World.
The genus Nettapus was erected by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich von Brandt in 1836. The name is from Ancient Greek nētta meaning "duck" and pous meaning "foot". It was thought that the type species, the African pygmy goose (Nettapus auritus), possessed the feet and body of a duck and the neck of a goose.
There are three extant species in the genus:
Pygmy geese have short bills, rounded heads and short legs. They nest in tree holes.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Pygmy goose (revision 1379750221), 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: Q244107.
