CreatureData

Scaly-sided merganser

Mergus squamatus Gould, 1864

ENEndangeredwaterfowl

The scaly-sided merganser (Mergus squamatus) is a species in the family Anatidae, order Anseriformes. Recorded adults weigh 956 g to 1.27 kg. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.

Scaly-sided merganser (Mergus squamatus)
Photo: BS Thurner Hof · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the scaly-sided merganser

Weight
956 g – 1.27 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
70 cm – 86 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
10src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the scaly-sided merganser?

SCALY-SIDED MERGANSER · WINGSPAN 86 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 86 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the scaly-sided merganser is about 51% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Photos of the scaly-sided merganser

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Scaly-sided merganser (Mergus squamatus)
BS Thurner Hof · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the scaly-sided merganser live?

Not recorded

What is the scaly-sided merganser?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The scaly-sided merganser or Chinese merganser (Mergus squamatus) is an endangered typical merganser (genus Mergus). It lives in Manchuria and extreme Southeast Siberia, breeding in the north and wintering in the south.

From the Wikipedia article “Scaly-sided merganser” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scaly-sided_merganser&oldid=1379734583), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the scaly-sided merganser endangered?

The scaly-sided merganser is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species. What the categories mean.

How is the scaly-sided merganser classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderAnseriformes
  5. familyAnatidae
  6. genusMergus
  7. SpeciesMergus squamatus Gould, 1864
Other names and names in other languages (46)
  • Chinese merganserEnglish
  • Chinese merganserEnglish
  • بلقشة محرشفة الجوانبArabic
  • Heskenneg SinaBreton
  • bec de serra de la XinaCatalan
  • morčák šupinatýCzech
  • hwyaden gribog TsieinaWelsh
  • Amur SkalleslugerDanish
  • SchuppensägerGerman
  • ĉinia merĝoEsperanto
  • SkvamomerĝoEsperanto
  • Serreta chinaSpanish
  • soomuskoskelEstonian
  • اردک ماهیخوار پهلوپولکیPersian
  • amurinkoskeloFinnish
  • Harle de ChineFrench
  • מרגון סיניHebrew
  • csuklyás bukóHungarian
  • pikkelyes bukóHungarian
  • Smergo cineseItalian
  • Smergo dai fianchi scagliosiItalian
  • Smergo della CinaItalian
  • Smergo squamatoItalian
  • コウライアイサJapanese
  • 호사비오리Korean
  • kininis dančiasnapisLithuanian
  • zvīņotā gauraLatvian
  • Chinese ZaagbekDutch
  • skjellfiskandNorwegian
  • Amurankoskeloolo
  • tracz chińskiPolish
  • merganso-chinêsPortuguese
  • merganso-de-flanco-escamosoPortuguese
  • merganso-de-flancos-escamososPortuguese
  • Чешуйчатый крохальRussian
  • potápač šupinatýSlovak
  • Kineski ronacSerbian
  • amurskrakeSwedish
  • เป็ดปากยาวข้างลายThai
  • Yazılı TarakdişTurkish
  • крех китайськийUkrainian
  • Vịt cát Trung HoaVietnamese
  • 中华秋沙鸭Chinese
  • 中華秋沙鴨Chinese
  • 唐秋沙Chinese
  • 唐秋沙〔中華秋沙，鱗脇秋沙〕Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the scaly-sided merganser

Other species in the same genus Mergus.

CompareScaly-sided merganser vs Red-breasted merganserScaly-sided merganser vs Common merganserScaly-sided merganser vs Brazilian merganserScaly-sided merganser vs Auckland merganser

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the scaly-sided merganser?

An adult scaly-sided merganser weighs 956 g – 1.27 kg and has a wingspan of 70 cm – 86 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the scaly-sided merganser endangered?

The scaly-sided merganser is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the scaly-sided merganser?

The scaly-sided merganser (Mergus squamatus) belongs to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Scaly-sided merganser (Mergus squamatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/scaly-sided-merganser

MLA

“Scaly-sided merganser (Mergus squamatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/scaly-sided-merganser.

BibTeX
@misc{scaly_sided_merganser_2026,
  title = {Scaly-sided merganser (Mergus squamatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/scaly-sided-merganser},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}