Anas anatum
- noun
- Specialized
- The Anas anatum is commonly found in wetlands.
Examples
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Conservation efforts have helped increase the population of Anas anatum in recent years.
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The migration route of Anas anatum extends from Canada to the southern United States.
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Scientists observed a flock of Anas anatum near the wetland reserve.
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Did you know that the Anas anatum is a migratory bird?
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Scientists observed a flock of Anas anatum near the wetland reserve.
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The migration route of Anas anatum extends from Canada to the southern United States.
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Conservation efforts have helped increase the population of Anas anatum in recent years.
Synonyms
A dark brown duck found in eastern North America
A medium-sized dark brown duck that lives in the northeastern United States and Canada
Surface Forms
Morphology
Anas + anatum
This is a Latin binomial (genus + species) used as a scientific label; its specific reference ('American black duck') is not compositionally derivable from the surface words in English. Knowing 'Anas' as a genus of ducks does not allow a B1 learner to infer the species meaning of 'anatum' (which is not a standard English word) without specialist knowledge of taxonomy, so the expression is opaque to typical learners.
Etymology
Anas anatum comes from Latin. The first word Anas and the second anatum both come from the Latin word for 'duck', so scientists used this clear, repeated phrase as a formal 'name' for the bird. That's why Anas anatum today is the 'scientific name' for the American black duck.