NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
South African Shelduck
Tadorna cana (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
South African Shelduck (Tadorna cana)
Joseph Morlan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The South African shelduck or Cape shelduck (Tadorna cana) is a species of shelduck, a group of large goose-like birds in the bird family Anatidae, which includes the swans, geese and ducks. This is a common species native to southern Africa.
This is a 64 cm (25 in) long bird which breeds mainly in Namibia and South Africa. In the austral winter, many birds move north-east from the breeding range to favoured moulting grounds, where sizable concentrations occur.
This species is mainly associated with lakes and rivers in fairly open country, breeding in disused mammal holes, usually those of the aardvark. Pairs tend to be very nomadic when not in breeding season.
Wikipedia contributors, South African shelduck; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:58:12.470364+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Tadorna cana (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
- Name authority
- (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
- Common name
- South African Shelduck
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Tadorna
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae Leach, 1820
- genusTadorna F. Boie, 1822
- speciesTadorna cana (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Tadorna. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Common ShelduckTadorna tadorna (Linnaeus, 1758) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Australian ShelduckTadorna tadornoides (Jardine & Selby, 1828) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Paradise ShelduckTadorna variegata (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Crested ShelduckTadorna cristata (Kuroda, 1917) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Ruddy ShelduckTadorna ferruginea (Pallas, 1764) | AnatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Anas cana J. F. Gmelin, 1789 J. F. Gmelin, 1789 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=175057 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:54GHR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.