Anser is a waterfowl genus that includes the grey geese and the white geese. It belongs to the true goose and swan subfamily of Anserinae under the family of Anatidae. The genus has a Holarctic distribution, with at least one species breeding in any open, wet habitats in the subarctic and cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in summer. Some also breed farther south, reaching into warm temperate regions. They mostly migrate south in winter, typically to regions in the temperate zone between the January 0 °C (32 °F) and 5 °C (41 °F) isotherms.
The genus contains 11 living species.
The species of this genus span nearly the whole range of true goose shapes and sizes. The largest are the bean, greylag and swan geese at up to around in weight (with domestic forms far exceeding this), and the smallest are the lesser white-fronted and Ross's geese, which ranges from about .
All have legs and feet that are pink, or orange, and bills that are pink, orange, or black. All have white under- and upper-tail coverts, and several have some extent of white on their heads. The neck, body and wings are grey or white, with black or blackish primary—and also often secondary—remiges (pinions). The three species of "white geese" (emperor, snow and Ross's geese) were formerly treated as a separate genus Chen, but are now generally included in Anser. The closely related "black" geese in the genus Branta differ in having black legs, and generally darker body plumage.
The genus Anser was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760.[1] The name comes from the Latin word anser meaning "goose"[2] used as the specific epithet for the greylag goose (Anas anser) introduced by Linnaeus in 1758, that epithet was repeated to become its generic name as the type species.[3] [4]
The evolutionary relationships between Anser geese have been difficult to resolve because of their rapid radiation during the Pleistocene and frequent hybridization.[5] [6] In 2016 Ottenburghs and colleagues published a study that established the phylogenetic relationships between the species by comparing exonic DNA sequences.[7]
The genus contains 11 species:[8]
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anser indicus | Breeds in highlands of Central Asia; winters in South Asia, Myanmar and southern China; introduced in Europe | ||
| Anser canagicus | Near the Pacific coast in Alaska, Russian Far East and Canada | ||
| Anser rossii | Breeds in northern Canada and Alaska; winters in contiguous United States and northern Mexico | ||
| Anser caerulescens | Breeds in northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland; winters in contiguous United States and northern Mexico | ||
| Anser anser | Europe, Asia and North Africa | ||
| Anser cygnoides | Breeds in Mongolia, northernmost China and southeastern Russia; winters in southeastern China | ||
| Anser fabalis | Breeds in Russia, Finland, Norway and Sweden; winters in Europe, and Central and East Asia | ||
| Anser serrirostris | Breeds in northern Russia; winters in Europe, and Central and East Asia | ||
| Anser brachyrhynchus | Breeds in Iceland, Svalbard and Greenland; winters in northwestern Europe | ||
| Anser albifrons | Breeds in northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland and northern Russia; winters in contiguous United States, northern Mexico, Europe, East Asia, Iraq and near the Caspian Sea | ||
| Anser erythropus | Breeds in northern Russia, Finland, Norway and Sweden; winters in East Asia, near the Caspian Sea, and in southeastern and northwestern Europe | ||
The following white geese were separated as the genus Chen. Most ornithological works now include Chen within Anser,
Some authorities also treat some subspecies as distinct species (notably the tundra bean goose) or as likely future species splits (notably the Greenland white-fronted goose).
Numerous fossil species have been allocated to this genus. As the true geese are near-impossible to assign osteologically to genus, this must be viewed with caution. It can be assumed with limited certainty that European fossils from known inland sites belong into Anser. As species related to the Canada goose have been described from the Late Miocene onwards in North America too, sometimes from the same localities as the presumed grey geese, it casts serious doubt on the correct generic assignment of the supposed North American fossil geese. Heterochen = Anser pratensis seems to differ profoundly from other species of Anser and might be placed into a different genus; alternatively, it might have been a unique example of a grey goose adapted for perching in trees.[9] [10]
The Maltese swan Cygnus equitum was occasionally placed into Anser, and Anser condoni is a synonym of Cygnus paloregonus. A goose fossil from the Early-Middle Pleistocene of El Salvador is highly similar to Anser. Given its age it is likely to belong to an extant genus, and biogeography indicates Branta as other likely candidate.
?Anser scaldii Beneden 1872 nomen nudum (Late Miocene of Antwerp, Belgium) may be a shelduck.
Two species in the genus are of major commercial importance, having been domesticated as poultry: European domesticated geese are derived from the greylag goose, and Chinese and some African domesticated geese are derived from the swan goose.
Most species are hunted to a greater or lesser extent; in some areas, some populations are threatened by over-hunting and habitat loss. Although most species are not considered threatened by the IUCN, the lesser white-fronted goose and swan goose are listed as Vulnerable and the emperor goose is near-threatened.
Other species have benefited from reductions in hunting since the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with most species in western Europe and North America showing marked increases in response to protection. In some cases, this has led to conflicts with farming, when large flocks of geese graze crops in the winter.