NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Comb Duck
Sarkidiornis melanotos (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.
Knob-billed duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos) male, Lake Ziway, Ethiopia
Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The knob-billed duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos) or African comb duck is a type of duck found along the tropical/sub-tropical wetlands and waterways of Sub-Saharan Africa and the island of Madagascar, as well as most of South Asia and mainland Indochina.
Most taxonomic authorities classify the knob-billed duck and the comb duck separately. A misidentified species of extinct Mauritian comb duck was initially described from unrecognised remains of the Mauritius sheldgoose (Alopochen mauritiana); this was realised as early as 1897, but the printed case of mistaken identity can still, occasionally, be found in modern-day sources.
Wikipedia contributors, Knob-billed duck; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:44:55.721696+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sarkidiornis melanotos (Pennant, 1769)
- Name authority
- (Pennant, 1769)
- Common name
- Comb Duck
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Sarkidiornis
- 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
- genusSarkidiornis Eyton, 1838
- speciesSarkidiornis melanotos (Pennant, 1769)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Sarkidiornis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Comb DuckSarkidiornis sylvicola H. Ihering & R. Ihering, 1907 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Sarkidiornis melanotos melanotos (Pennant, 1769) (Pennant, 1769) | synonym |
| Anser melanotos Pennant, 1769 Pennant, 1769 | synonym |
| Sarkidiornis melanotus (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.
Southern Asia
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=553913 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:79NZ8. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.