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Etymology & Terminology

Descriptions
Distribution & Movements

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Systematics & Evolution

Fossil Swans

The word swan is derived from Old English Swan, akin to the German Schwan and Dutch zwaan and Swedish svan, in turn derived from Indo-European root *swen (to sound, to sing), whence Latin derives sonus (sound).
Young swans are known as cygnets, from the Latin word cygnus ("swan") and the Old French suffix -et ("little"), or as swanlings. An adult male is a cob, from Middle English cobbe (leader of a group) and an adult female is a pen.

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The swans are the largest members of the duck family Anatidae, and are amongst the largest flying birds. The largest species, including the mute swan, trumpeter swan, and whooper swan, can reach length of over 1.5 m and weigh over 15 kg. Their wingspans can be almost 3 m. Compared to the closely related geese they are much larger in size and have proportionally larger feet and necks. They also have a patch of unfeathered skin between the eyes and bill in adults. The sexes are alike in plumage, but males are generally bigger and heavier than females.

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The Northern Hemisphere species of swan have pure white plumage but the Southern Hemisphere species are mixed black and white. The Australian Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) is completely black except for the white flight feathers on its wings; the chicks of black swans are light grey in colour, and the South American Black-necked Swan has a black neck. The legs of swans are normally a dark blackish grey colour, except for the two South American species, which have pink legs. Bill colour varies: the four subarctic species have black bills with varying amounts of yellow, and all the others are patterned red and black.

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Although most birds generally do not have teeth, swans are known to be an exception to this, having small jagged 'teeth' as part of their beaks used for catching and eating fish. The Mute Swan and Black-necked Swan have a lump at the base of the bill on the upper mandible.

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Whooper Swans migrate from Iceland, Scandinavia and Northern Russia to Europe, Central Asia, China and Japan. The swans are generally found in temperate environments, rarely occurring in the tropics. Four (or five) species occur in the Northern Hemisphere, one species is found in Australia and New Zealand and one species is distributed in southern South America They are absent from tropical Asia, Central America, northern South America and the entirety of Africa. One species, the Mute Swan, has been introduced to North America, Australia and New Zealand.

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Several species are migratorY, either wholly or partly so. The Mute Swan is a partial migrant, being resident over areas of Western Europe but wholly migratory in Eastern Europe and Asia. The Whooper Swan and Tundra Swan are wholly migratory, and the Trumpeter Swans are almost entirely migratory. There is some evidence that the Black-necked Swan is migratory over part of its range, but detailed studies have not established whether these movements are long or short range migration. Swans feed in the water and on land. They are almost entirely herbivorous, although small numbers of aquatic animals may be eaten.

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In the water food is obtained by upending or dabbling, and their diet is composed of the roots, tubers, stems and leaves of aquatic and submerged plants. Swans form monogamous pair bonds that last for many years, and in some cases these can last for life. Modern genetic techniques are starting to reveal that 'divorces' are more common than previously thought, as is mating with other swans outside of the social pairing, without breaking the social pair bond. These bonds are maintained year round, even in gregarious and migratory species like the Tundra Swan, which congregate in large flocks in the wintering grounds.

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The nest is on the ground near water and about a metre across. Unlike many other ducks and geese the male helps with the nest construction. Average egg size (for the mute swan) is 11374 mm, weighing 340 g, in a clutch size of 4 to 7, and an incubation period of 3445 days. With the exception of the dendrocygninaes they are the only anatids where the males aid in incubating the eggs. Mute swans have been observed to display homosexual or transgender behavior.

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All evidence suggests that the genus Cygnus evolved in Europe or western Eurasia during the Miocene, spreading all over the Northern Hemisphere until the Pliocene. When the southern species branched off is not known. The Mute Swan apparently is closest to the Southern Hemisphere Cygnus its habits of carrying the neck curved and the wings fluffed as well as its bill color and knob indicate that its closest living relative is actually the Black Swan. Given the biogeography and appearance of the subgenus Olor it seems likely that these are of a more recent origin, as evidence shows by their modern ranges (which were mostly uninhabitable during the last ice age) and great similarity between the taxa.

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Subgenus Cygnus Mute Swan, Cygnus olor, is a Eurasian species that occurs at lower latitudes than Whooper Swan and Bewick's Swan across Europe into southern Russia, China and the Russian Maritimes. Subgenus Chenopis Black Swan, Cygnus atratus of Australia, and introduced in New Zealand. New Zealand Swan, Cygnus atratus sumnerensis, an extinct subspecies of the Black Swan from New Zealand and the Chatham Islands. Subgenus Sthenelides Black-necked SwaN, Cygnus melancoryphus of South America.

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Subgenus Olor Whooper Swan, Cygnus cygnus breeds in Iceland and subarctic Europe and Asia, migrating to temperate Europe and Asia in winter. Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator is the largest North American swan. Very similar to the Whooper Swan (and sometimes treated as a subspecies of it), it was hunted almost to extinction but has since recovered. Tundra Swan, Cygnus columbianus is a small swan which breeds on the North American tundra, further north than Trumpeter Swan. It winters in the USA.

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The fossil record of the genus Cygnus is quite impressive, although allocation to the subgenera is often tentative; as indicated above, at least the early forms probably belong to the C. olor - Southern Hemisphere lineage, where as the Pleistocene taxa from North America would be placed in Olor. A number of prehistoric species have been described, mostly from the Northern Hemisphere. Among them was the giant Siculo-Maltese C. falconeri which was taller (though not heavier) than the contemporary local dwarf elephants (Elephas falconeri).

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Fossil swans Cygnus csakvarensis (Late Miocene of Hungary) - formerly Cygnanser Cygnus mariae (Early Pliocene of Wickieup, USA) Cygnus verae (Early Pliocene of Sofia, Bulgaria) Cygnus liskunae (Middle Pliocene of W Mongolia) Cygnus hibbardi (?Early Pleistocene of Idaho, USA) Cygnus sp. (Early Pleistocene of Dursunlu, Turkey: Louchart et al. 1998)

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Giant Swan, Cygnus falconeri (Middle Pleistocene of Malta and Sicily, Mediterranean) Cygnus paloregonus (Middle Pleistocene of WC USA) - includes "Anser" condoni and C. matthewi Dwarf Swan Cygnus equitum (Middle - Late Pleistocene of Malta and Sicily, Mediterranean) Cygnus lacustris (Late Pleistocene of Lake Eyre region, Australia) - formerly Archaeocygnus Cygnus sp. (Pleistocene of Australia)

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The supposed fossil swans "Cygnus" bilinicus and "Cygnus" herrenthalsi were, respectively, a stork and some large bird of unknown affinity (due to the bad state of preservation of the referred material). Anser atavus is sometimes placed in Cygnus. The Coscoroba Swan (Coscoroba coscoroba) from South America, the only species of its genus, is apparently not a true swan. Its phylogenetic position is not fully resolved; it is in some aspects more similar to geese and shelducks.

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Descriptions
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Fossil Swans

This presentation Created BY :

Augridita Prawidya. C XI.IA 2 SMAN 4 KENDARI