Sternula

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Ordo: Charadriiformes
Subordo: Lari

Familia: Laridae
Subfamilia: Sterninae
Genus: Sternula
Species: S. albifrons – S. antillarum – S. balaenarum – S. lorata – S. nereis – S. saundersi – S. superciliaris
Name

Sternula F. Boie, 1822

Type species: Sternula albifrons (Pallas, 1764)
Formerly often included in Sterna

References

Isis von Oken 10-11: 563.

Sternula is a genus of small white terns. It is often subsumed into the larger genus Sterna, although the most recent changes to the AOU checklist considers it a separate genus.[2] The genus name is a diminutive of Sterna, "tern".[3]
Species

Listed alphabetically.[4]
Image Common Name Scientific name Distribution
Little tern Sternula albifrons temperate and tropical Europe and Asia.
Least tern Sternula antillarum North America and locally in northern South America.
Damara tern Sternula balaenarum southern Africa and migrates to tropical African coasts
Peruvian tern Sternula lorata Chile, Ecuador, and Peru
Fairy tern Sternula nereis Australia, New Caledonia,northern New Zealand
Saunders's tern Sternula saundersi north-western Indian Ocean
Yellow-billed tern Sternula superciliaris Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Saunders's and least terns were both formerly considered to be subspecies of little tern.
References

"Laridae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
Banks et al. 2007. Forty-eighth supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Checklist of North American Birds. The Auk 124(1): 1109-1115.
Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 365. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
Shorebirds & allies Archived 2013-12-05 at the Wayback Machine, IOC World Bird List, ver.3.2.