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African Darter

Anhinga rufa

Anhingas (Anhingidae) · Suliformes (Suliformes)

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African Darter

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Family

The darters, anhingas, or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae, which contains a single genus, Anhinga. There are four living species found in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australasia. The term snakebird is usually used without any additions to signify whichever of the completely allopatric species occurs in any one region.

Order

The order Suliformes (, dubbed "Phalacrocoraciformes" by Christidis & Boles 2008) is an order of birds that includes gannets, boobies, frigatebirds, cormorants and darters. The order is recognised by the International Ornithologist's Union. Regarding the recent evidence that the traditional Pelecaniformes is polyphyletic, it has been suggested that the group be divided to reflect the true evolutionary relationships; a 2017 study indicated that they are most closely related to Otidiformes (bustards) and Ciconiiformes (storks).

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