The Key to Scientific Names
- Notonetta
(Anatidae; syn. Anas † Cape Teal A. capensis) Gr. νοτος notos south; νηττα nētta duck; "The smaller species sometimes removed under the name of Nettion, or Nettium, should naturally also be separated; of the species commonly lumped in this genus, there are two names to be considered, Nettion, genotype N. crecca, and Virago, genotype V. gibberifrons. Both our species, capensis and punctata, differ from these genotypes in the greater length of the secondaries and breadth of the bill; capensis differs further from them in that the lamellae project prominently below the tomia of the bill, while punctata (which has the lamellae as in Nettion and Virago) has fewer tail feathers (only fourteen) and the colour markings of the wing as in "Nettion" brasiliense, which may perhaps prove to be congeneric. Having regard to these differences, I would raise our two species to generic rank, as follows: Notonetta gen. nov., genotype Anas capensis Gmelin. Micronetta gen. nov., genotype A. punctata Burchell." (A. Roberts 1922); "Notonetta A. Roberts, 1922, Annals Transvaal Mus., VIII (4), p. 204. Type, by original designation, Anas capensis Gmelin, 1789." (JAJ 2020).
