Barnacle goose Barnacle goose The barnacle goose ("Branta leucopsis") belongs to the genus "Branta" of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey "Anser" species. Despite its superficial similarity to the brant goose, genetic analysis has shown it is an eastern derivative of the cackling goose lineage. The barnacle goose was first classified taxonomically by Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1803. "Branta" is a Latinised form of Old Norse "Brandgás", "burnt (black) goose" and the specific epithet is from the Ancient Greek "leukos" "white", and "opsis" "faced". The barnacle goose and the similar brant goose were previously
Branta thessaliensis Mammal Neogene stage MN12, 7.5-6.8 million years ago) deposit at Perivolaki in Thessaly, after which region the species was named. Both near-shore freshwater bodies and open grassland habitat were found in the Perivolaki area during MN12. The species provides further support for the distinctness of "Branta" from the "Anser" grey geese by that time. It also suggests that the present biogeography of Eurasian "Branta" - breeding at Arctic and wintering at Mediterranean latitudes - is a product of post-Miocene times, possibly due to range shifts during the ice age era. In this aspect it is notable that such a breeding-wintering