NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Oriental Darter
Anhinga melanogaster Pennant, 1769
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Oriental darter (Anhinga melanogaster) is a water bird of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. It has a long and slender neck with a straight, pointed bill and, like the cormorant, it hunts for fish while its body is submerged in water. It spears a fish underwater, bringing it above the surface, tossing and juggling it before swallowing the fish head first. The body remains submerged as it swims, and the slender neck alone is visible above the water, which accounts for the colloquial name of snakebird. Like the cormorants, it has wettable feathers and it is often found perched on a rock or branch with its wings held open to dry.
Wikipedia contributors, Oriental darter; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:45:56.500794+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Anhinga melanogaster Pennant, 1769
- Name authority
- Pennant, 1769
- Common name
- Oriental Darter
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Suliformes
- Family
- Anhingidae
- Genus
- Anhinga
- 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
- orderSuliformes
- familyAnhingidae Reichenbach, 1849
- genusAnhinga Brisson, 1760
- speciesAnhinga melanogaster Pennant, 1769
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Anhinga. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Australasian DarterAnhinga novaehollandiae (Gould, 1847) | AnhingidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| African DarterAnhinga rufa (Daudin, 1802) | AnhingidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| AnhingaAnhinga anhinga (Linnaeus, 1766) | AnhingidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Anhinga melanogaster melanogaster Pennant, 1769 Pennant, 1769 | 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.
- Pennant, & Thomas. (1769). Indian Zoology. 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:5V2B5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.