Blue duck

Blue duck
Blue duck at Staglands, Akatarawa Valley
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Hymenolaimus
G.R. Gray, 1843
Species:
H. malacorhynchos
Binomial name
Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos
(Gmelin, JF, 1789)
Subspecies

See text

  Extant
  Probable original distribution where the blue duck is extinct
Synonyms

Anas malacorhynchus (protonym)

The blue duck (Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos) or whio is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae endemic to New Zealand. It is the only member of the genus Hymenolaimus. Its exact taxonomic status is still unresolved, but it appears to be most closely related to the tribe Anatini, the dabbling ducks.

The whio is depicted on the reverse side of the New Zealand $10 banknote.