Sterna
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For other uses, see Sterna (disambiguation).
| Sterna | |
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| Common Tern by the River Thames | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Sternidae |
| Genus: | Sterna Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Species | |
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Many, see text. |
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Sterna is a genus of terns in the bird family Sternidae. It used to encompass most "white" terns indiscriminately, but mtDNA sequence comparisons have recently determined that this arrangement is paraphyletic (Bridge et al., 2005). It is now restricted to the typical large white terns occurring near-globally in coastal regions.
[edit] Classification
- Genus Sterna - typical white terns
- Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri
- Snowy-crowned Tern Sterna trudeaui
- Common Tern Sterna hirundo
- Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii
- White-fronted Tern Sterna striata
- Black-naped Tern Sterna sumatrana
- South American Tern Sterna hirundinacea
- Antarctic Tern Sterna vittata
- Kerguelen Tern Sterna virgata
- Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea
- River Tern Sterna aurantia
- Black-bellied Tern Sterna acuticauda (possibly Chlidonias)
- White-cheeked Tern Sterna repressa (possibly Chlidonias)
- Fairy Tern Sterna nereis
[edit] References
- Bridge, E. S.; Jones, A. W. & Baker, A. J. (2005): A phylogenetic framework for the terns (Sternini) inferred from mtDNA sequences: implications for taxonomy and plumage evolution. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 35: 459–469. PDF fulltext.
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