Editing Comb duck (section)

==Systematics==
Uncertainty surrounds the correct [[Systematics|systematic]] placement of this species. Initially, it was placed in the [[dabbling duck]] [[subfamily]] [[Anatinae]]. Later, it was assigned to the "[[perching duck]]s", a [[paraphyletic]] assemblage of waterfowl most of which are intermediate between dabbling ducks and [[shelduck]]s. As the "perching ducks" were split up, the comb duck was moved to the [[Tadorninae]] or shelduck [[subfamily]].<ref name = mb1987 />

Analysis of [[mtDNA]] [[DNA sequence|sequence]]s of the [[cytochrome b|cytochrome ''b'']] and [[NADH dehydrogenase]] [[Protein subunit|subunit]] 2 [[gene]]s, however, suggests that it is a quite [[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] member of the Anatidae, vindicating the earliest placement, but its closest living relatives cannot be resolved to satisfaction without further study.<ref name=Johnson/>