Mergus is the genus of the typical mergansers (/mɜːrˈɡænsərz/ mur-GAN-sərz) fish-eating ducks in the subfamily Anatinae. The genus name is a Latin word used by Pliny ...
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the Elder and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified waterbird.
The common merganser (Mergus merganser) and red-breasted merganser (M. serrator) have broad ranges in the northern hemisphere. The Brazilian merganser (M. octosetaceus) is a South American duck, and one of the six most threatened waterfowl in the world, with possibly fewer than 250 birds in the wild. The scaly-sided merganser or "Chinese merganser" (M. squamatus) is an endangered species. It lives in temperate East Asia, breeding in the north and wintering in the south.