Gray Teal

SCI Name:  Anas gracilis
Protonym:  Anas gracilis Ibis p.41
Taxonomy:  Anseriformes / Anatidae / Anas
Taxonomy Code:  gretea1
Type Locality:  Manawatu, North Island, New Zealand.
Author:  Buller
Publish Year:  1869
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

ANAS
(Anatidae; Ϯ Mallard A. platyrhynchos) L. anas, anatis  duck.  The Mallard is the wild ancestor of the farmyard duck and its many domesticated forms; "61. ANAS.  Rostrum lamelloso-dentatum, convexum, obtusum.  Lingua ciliata, obtusa." (Linnaeus 1758); "Anas Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, p. 122. Type, by subsequent designation (Lesson, 1828, Man. Ornith., 2, p. 417), Anas boschas Linnaeus = Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus." (Johnsgard in Peters, 1979, I, ed. 2, p. 460).  Linnaeus's Anas comprised thirty-nine species (A. Cygnus, A. Cygnoid, A. Tadorna, A. spectabilis, A. fusca, A. nigra, A. Anser, A. erythropus, A. canadensis, A. cærulescens, A. Bernicla, A. mollissima, A. moschata, A. bahamensis, A. Albeola, A. clypeata, A. platyrhynchos, A. strepera, A. bucephala, A. Clangula, A. rustica, A. perspicillata, A. Glaucion, A. Penelope, A. acuta, A. hyemalis, A. ferina, A. Querquedula, A. Crecca, A. histrionica, A. minuta, A. Circia, A. autumnalis, A. Boschas, A. adunca, A. galericulata, A. Sponsa, A. arborea, A. Fuligula).    
Var. Annas, Anos, Anus, Asnas.   
Synon. Aethiopinetta, Afranas, Aldabranas, Archeoquerquedula, Boschas, Crecca, Dafila, Dafilonettion, Dafilula, Elasmonetta, Horizonetta, Melananas, Micronetta, Nesonetta, Nettion, Notonetta, Pachyanas, Paecilonitta, Phasianurus, Philippinetta, Polionetta, Trachelonetta, Virago, Xenonetta.

gracilis
L. gracilis or gracilus  slender, elegant, slim, thin.
● “has many characters in common with the Ptilotis chrysotis ... and the Ptilotis similis ... but it differs from both in the greater slenderness of its form, in its diminutive size, and, especially from the former, in the uniform colouring of its throat and abdomen” (Gould 1866) (Microptilotis).
● ex “Gracile Goatsucker” of Latham 1801 (syn. Podargus strigoides).

SUBSPECIES

Gray Teal (gracilis)
SCI Name: Anas gracilis gracilis
gracilis
L. gracilis or gracilus  slender, elegant, slim, thin.
● “has many characters in common with the Ptilotis chrysotis ... and the Ptilotis similis ... but it differs from both in the greater slenderness of its form, in its diminutive size, and, especially from the former, in the uniform colouring of its throat and abdomen” (Gould 1866) (Microptilotis).
● ex “Gracile Goatsucker” of Latham 1801 (syn. Podargus strigoides).

Gray Teal (remissa)
SCI Name: Anas gracilis remissa
remissa
L. remissus remiss, negligent < remittere to yield, to concede; “Mayr failed to note that this bird, lacking the development of the frontal sinuses, was separate from gibberifrons” (Ripley 1942) (‡subsp. Anas castanea).