Australian darter
| Australasian darter | |
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| Australasian darter, Anhinga novaehollandiae | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Suliformes |
| Family: | Anhingidae |
| Genus: | Anhinga |
| Species: | A. novaehollandiae |
| Binomial name | |
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Anhinga novaehollandiae (Gould, 1847) |
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| Distribution map | |
| Synonyms | |
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Anhinga laticeps (De Vis, 1906) |
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Anhinga laticeps (De Vis, 1906)
Anhinga melanogaster novaehollandiae
Plotus laticeps De Vis, 1906
The Australasian darter or Australian darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) is a species of bird in the darter family, Anhingidae. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. It weighs around 2.6 kg and spans 86–94 cm (34–37 in) in length.
John Gould described the Australasian darter as Plotus novaehollandiae in 1847. Closely related to American (Anhinga anhinga), African (Anhinga rufa), and Oriental (Anhinga melanogaster) darters, the Australasian darter has been classed as a subspecies of the African or African plus Oriental darters. All four have also been classed as a single species. Examination of the leg bones indicates the three Old World species are more closely related to each other with the American species more divergent. Genetic analysis showed it differed from A. rufa to a degree equivalent to that between other separate species, and shifted consensus to treating the Australasian darter as a separate species.
Fossils of the Australasian darter have been recovered from several Pleistocene strata in Australia.
As well as Australasian darter, common names given to the species include darter, diver, needle-beak shag, shag, and snake-bird. The indigenous people of southwestern Australia called it mimal. Gold also called it the New Holland darter or New Holland devil-bird.
The Australasian darter is a slim bird measuring 86–94 cm (34–37 in) long with a snakelike slender neck. The male has black plumage with a white streak down the side of its head and neck, while the female has white underparts.
Typical habitat is freshwater or brackish wetlands more than 0.5 m deep with fallen trees or logs and vegetated banks; less commonly, darters are found in inland saltwater environments. The Australasian darter is found in the lowlands of New Guinea, New Britain, the Moluccas and the Lesser Sunda Islands. It is found across Australia, though not in the Great Sandy or Great Victoria Deserts or Nullarbor Plain, nor Tasmania.
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