Goldeneye (duck)

Taxobox
name = Goldeneyes

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image_width = 250px
image_caption = Common Goldeneye ("Bucephala clangula")
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Anseriformes
familia = Anatidae
genus = "Bucephala"
genus_authority = Boie, 1822
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = "Bucephala albeola"
"Bucephala clangula"
"Bucephala islandica"
synonyms ="Charitonetta"
and see text

Goldeneye are small tree-hole nesting northern hemisphere seaducks belonging to the genus "Bucephala". Their plumage is black and white, and they eat fish, crustaceans and other marine life.

The Bufflehead was formerly separated in its own genus "Charitonetta", while the goldeneyes proper were mistakenly placed in "Clangula", the genus of the Long-tailed Duck which at that time was placed in "Harelda".

The three living species are
* Common Goldeneye "Bucephala clangula "
* Barrow's Goldeneye "Bucephala islandica"
* Bufflehead "Bucephala albeola"

Known fossil taxa are:
* "Bucephala cereti" (Sajóvölgyi Middle Miocene of Mátraszõlõs, Hungary - Late Pliocene of Chilhac, France)
* "Bucephala ossivalis" (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Bone Valley, USA), which was very similar to the Common Goldeneye and may even have been a paleosubspecies or direct ancestor
* "Bucephala fossilis" (Late Pliocene of California, USA)
* "Bucephala angustipes" (Early Pleistocene of C Europe)
* "Bucephala" sp. (Early Pleistocene of Dursunlu, Turkey: Louchart "et al." 1998)

References

* Louchart, Antoine; Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile; Guleç, Erksin; Howell, Francis Clark & White, Tim D. (1998): L'avifaune de Dursunlu, Turquie, Pléistocène inférieur: climat, environnement et biogéographie. "C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris IIA" 327(5): 341-346. [French with English abridged version] DOI|10.1016/S1251-8050(98)80053-0 (HTML abstract)