Spur-winged Goose

SCI Name:  Plectropterus gambensis
Protonym:  Anas gambensis Syst.Nat.ed.12 ed.12 p.195
Taxonomy:  Anseriformes / Anatidae / Plectropterus
Taxonomy Code:  spwgoo1
Type Locality:  Gambia.
Author:  Linnaeus
Publish Year:  1766
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

PLECTROPTERUS
(Anatidae; Ϯ Spur-winged Goose P. gambensis) Gr. πληκτρον plēktron  cock’s spur; -πτερος -pteros  -winged  < πτερον pteron  wing; "PLECTROPTERUS.  PLECTROPTERUS.  Generic Character.  Rostrum subcylindricum, basi tuberculo carneo instructum, laminato-dentatum, obtusum.  Nares in medio rostri sitæ.  Alæ calcaria dua armatæ.  Collum breve.  Pedes tetradactyli; digiti anteriores toti palmati; pollex simplex.  ...  There are but two species known; and of their manners we are ignorant.     GAMBIA PLECTROPTERUS. (Plectropterus Gambensis.)  ...  Spur-winged Goose. Lath. Gen. Syn. 6. 452. pl. 102.  ...  Inhabits Gambia and other parts of Africa.  ...  BLACK-BACKED PLECTROPTERUS. (Plectropterus melanonotos.)  ...  Black-backed Goose. Lath. Gen. Syn. 6. 449.  ...  Common in the island of Ceylon, and the coast of Coromandel, and also in the vicinity of the Ganges." (Stephens 1824); "Plectropterus Stephens, in Shaw, Gen. Zoöl., 12, pt. 2, 1824, p. 6. Type, by subsequent designation, Anas gambensis Linné. (Eyton, Monogr. Anat., 1838, p. 10.)" (Peters 1931, 1, 145).  
Var. Plectrophanes.   
Synon. Anatigralla, Gambo, Olor, Pleptera.

gambensis
Gambia.
● ex “Gambo-Goose” or “Spur-wing’d Goose” of Ray 1713 (Plectropterus).

SUBSPECIES

Spur-winged Goose (Northern)
SCI Name: Plectropterus gambensis gambensis
gambensis
Gambia.
● ex “Gambo-Goose” or “Spur-wing’d Goose” of Ray 1713 (Plectropterus).

Spur-winged Goose (Southern)
SCI Name: Plectropterus gambensis niger
niger
L. niger  black, dark coloured, shining black, jet black (cf. ater  dead black, dusky) (see nigra).
● ex “Black Vulture” of Willughby 1676, and Latham 1781, “Swarthy Vulture” of Charleton 1677, “Vultur niger” of Brisson 1760, and “Avoltojo nero” of Cetti 1776 (syn. Aegypius monachus).
● ?ex “Bouvreuil noir d’Afrique” of Brisson 1760 (Bubalornis).
● ex “Black Hawk” of A. Wilson 1812 (syn. Buteo lagopus sanctijohannis).
● ex “Barbu de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 206, fig. 1 (Capito).
● "70. STERNA.  ...  nigra.  3. S. cauda subforficata, corpore cano, capite rostroque nigro, pedibus rubris. Fn. svec. 128.  Hirundo marina minor. Alb. av. 2. p. 82. t. 89.  Sterna fusca. Raj. av. 131.  Larus cinereus minor. Aldr. orn. . .  Habitat in Europa; vivit in societate." (Linnaeus 1758) (Chlidonias).
● ex “Martinet de S. Domingue. Hirundo apus dominicensis” of Brisson 1760, and “Petit Martinet noir” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (Cypseloides).
● ex “Ibis of Bellonius” of Willughby 1676, and Ray 1713, “Ibis” of Brisson 1760, “Ibis noir” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Black Ibis” of Latham 1785 (syn. Geronticus calvus).
● ex “Black Snipe” of Pennant 1785, and Latham 1785 (syn. Haematopus bachmani).
● ex “Black Rail” of Latham 1785 (syn. Limnocorax flavirostris).
● “Vieillot [1817] probably referred to this species, but the brief description might equally apply to P. fuscicollis” (Ogilvie-Grant 1898) (Microcarbo).
● ex “Yellow-tufted Bee-eater” of Latham 1782 (syn. Moho nobilis).
● ex “Barbu à gorge noires” of de Buffon 1770-1783, “Barbu de l’ile de Luçon” of Sonnerat 1782, and “Black-throated Barbet” of Latham 1782 (syn. Notharchus tectus).
● ex “Mésange Noire” of Levaillant 1803, pl. 137 (Melaniparus).
● ex “Black Shrike” of Latham 1781 (Platypsaris).
● ex “Pluvian du Sénégal” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 918 (syn. Pluvianus aegyptius).
● ex "Troupiale noir de Saint-Domingue" of d'Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 534 (Quiscalus).
● ex "Icterus niger" of Brisson 1760, "Troupiale noir" of de Buffon 1770-1783, and "Black Oriole" of Latham 1782, and Pennant 1785 (syn. Quiscalus niger).
● "60. TROCHILUS.  ...  niger.  13. T. rectricibus subæqualibus, corpore nigro subtus aurato, ano albo.  Trochilus niger. Mus. Ad. Fr. I. p. 13.  Habitat in Indiis." (Linnaeus 1758) (describing a melanistic form of this variable species) (Threnetes).
● "52. CUCULUS.  ...  niger.  6. C. cauda cuneiformi, corpore nigro nitido, rostro flavo.  Cuculus indicus niger. Edw. av. 58. t. 58.  Habitat in Benghala." (Linnaeus 1758) (unident.).