Lagopus

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Subsectio: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Euornithes
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Ornithurae
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Galloanseres
Ordo: Galliformes

Familia: Phasianidae
Subfamilia: Tetraoninae
Genus: Lagopus
Species: L. lagopus - L. leucura – L. muta
Name

Lagopus Brisson, 1760
Typus

Tetrao lagopus Linnaeus, 1758 = Lagopus lagopus

Lagopus muta

References

Brisson, M.J. 1760. Ornithologie ou méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés. A laquelle on a joint une description exacte de chaque espece, avec les citations des auteurs qui en ont traité, les noms qu'ils leur ont donnés, ceux que leur ont donnés les différentes nations, & les noms vulgaires. Ouvrage enrichi de figures en taille-douce. Tome I. - pp. j-xxiv [= 1-24], 1-526, j-lxxiij [= 1-73], Pl. I-XXXVII [= 1-37]. Paris. (Bauche). Original description p.26 BHL Reference page. p.181 BHL

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Schneehühner
English: Grouse, Ptarmigans
日本語: ライチョウ属
Türkçe: Kar tavuğu
中文: 雷鳥屬

Lagopus is a small genus of birds in the grouse subfamily commonly known as ptarmigans (/ˈtɑːrmɪɡənz/). The genus contains three living species with numerous described subspecies, all living in tundra or cold upland areas.

Taxonomy and etymology

The genus Lagopus was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) as the type species.[1][2] The genus name Lagopus is derived from Ancient Greek lagos (λαγος), meaning "hare", + pous (πους), "foot", in reference to the feathered feet and toes typical of this cold-adapted group (such as the snowshoe hare). The specific epithets muta and leucura were for a long time misspelt mutus and leucurus, in the erroneous belief that the ending of Lagopus denotes masculine gender. However, as the Ancient Greek term λαγωπους is of feminine gender, and the specific epithet has to agree with that, the feminine muta and leucura are correct.[3]

The English name ptarmigan comes from the Scottish Gaelic name for the bird, tarmachan ([Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: ['t̪ʰaɾaməxan]]), whose origin is unknown. The p- was added due to a mistaken belief in a Greek origin, as if the word were related to the Greek word πτερόν (pterón), 'wing'.
Description
Egg of a Lagopus

The three species are all sedentary specialists of cold regions. Willow ptarmigan is a circumpolar boreal forest species, white-tailed ptarmigan is a North American alpine bird, and rock ptarmigan breeds in both Arctic and mountain habitats across Eurasia and North America. With the exception of the red grouse, all have a white winter plumage that helps them blend into the snowy background. Even their remiges are white, while these feathers are black in almost all birds (even birds that are predominantly white, such as the Bali myna) because melanin makes them more resilient and thus improves flight performance. The Lagopus grouse apparently found it easier to escape predators by not being seen than by flying away.

These are hardy vegetarian birds, but insects are also taken by the developing young. In all species except for the willow ptarmigan, the female takes all responsibility for nesting and caring for the chicks, as is typical with gamebirds.
Species

The genus contains three species:[4]

Living species of Lagopus
Common and scientific names	Image	Description	Range and status
Willow ptarmigan (also willow grouse and red grouse) Lagopus lagopus Linnaeus, 1758		Summer: marbled brown and reddish with black tail and white underparts; winter: most subspecies have white plumage except for black tail.	10-20 subspecies. Circumarctic range in forest and moorlands of northern Eurasia and North America. Status: Least Concern.
Rock ptarmigan Lagopus muta Montin, 1781		Summer: grey and brown upperparts; winter: white plumage. Distinguish from willow ptarmigan by habitat – higher elevations and more barren ground.	20-30 subspecies. Arctic and subarctic Eurasia and North America on rocky mountainsides and tundra. Status: Least Concern.
White-tailed ptarmigan Lagopus leucura Richardson, 1831		Summer: greyish-brown and speckled; winter: white plumage. Males identifiable by reddish eyecombs. The smallest ptarmigan.	Alpine areas above the timberline in North America from Alaska and western Canada to New Mexico. Status: Least Concern.

The distinctive British form of willow ptarmigan, the red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) has sometimes been considered a separate species, L. scotica, but this is no longer accepted.
Fossil record

Two prehistoric species and two paleosubspecies are only known from fossils:

Lagopus atavus (Early Pliocene of Bulgaria? - Late Pliocene)
Lagopus balcanicus (Late Pliocene of Varshets, Bulgaria)[5]
Lagopus lagopus noaillensis (Pleistocene of W Europe)
Lagopus mutus correzensis (Pleistocene of W Europe)

References

Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés (in French and Latin). Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. Vol. 1, p. 26, Vol. 1, p. 181.
Peters, James Lee, ed. (1934). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 29.
David, Normand; Gosselin, Michel (2002). "The grammatical gender of avian genera". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 122 (4): 257-282 [258, 279].
Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Pheasants, partridges, francolins". World Bird List Version 9.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 3 April 2019.

Boev, Z. 1995. Middle Villafranchian birds from Varshets (Western Balkan Range - Bulgaria). - In: Peters, D. (ed.). Acta palaeornithologica. 3. Symposium SAPE. 5. Internat. Senckenberg-Konferenz 22–26 Juni 1992. - Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg. Frankfurt a. M., 181: 259-269.

Madge, Steve; McGowan, Philip J. K. & Kirwan, Guy M. (2002): Pheasants, partidges and grouse : a guide to the pheasants, partridges, quails, grouse, guineafowl, buttonquails and sandgrouse of the world. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-3966-0

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