''Alauda'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark oc ...

s found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the

Raso lark The Raso lark (''Alauda razae'') is a small passerine bird with a highly restricted range, being found only on Raso islet in the Cape Verde Islands. This critically endangered member of the family Alaudidae lives in very arid terrain, and is co ...

)

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the islet of Raso in the

Cape Verde Islands , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

. Further, at least two additional species are known from the fossil record. The current genus name is from Latin ''alauda'', "lark".

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

thought the word was originally of Celtic origin.

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus ''Alauda'' was introduced by the Swedish naturalist

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''

Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the system, now known as binomial ...

''. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specim ...

was subsequently designated as the

Eurasian skylark The Eurasian skylark (''Alauda arvensis'') is a passerine bird in the lark family, Alaudidae. It is a widespread species found across Europe and the Palearctic with introduced populations in New Zealand, Australia and on the Hawaiian Islands. ...

. The genus ''Alauda'' has four extant and at least two extinct species. Formerly, many other species have also been considered to belong to the genus.

Extant species

The genus contains four species:

Extinct species

* †''Alauda xerarvensis'' (late Pliocene of

Varshets Varshets ( bg, Вършец, variously transliterated; ) is a spa town in Montana Province, northwestern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Varshets Municipality. As of December 2019, its population is 5,444. The town ...

, Bulgaria) * †''Alauda tivadari'' (late Miocene of Polgardi, Hungary)

Former species

Previously, some authorities also classified the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus ''Alauda'': * Greater hoopoe-lark (desertorum) (as ''Alauda desertorum'') * Gray's lark (as ''Alauda grayi'') * Short-clawed lark (as ''Alauda chuana'') * Cape long-billed lark (as ''Alauda curvirostris'') *

Dusky lark The dusky lark (''Pinarocorys nigricans''), also known as the dusky bush lark or rufous-rumped bush lark, is a species of migratory lark in the family Alaudidae. It is native to the southern Afrotropics. Range It is found in southern Central Af ...

(as ''Alauda nigricans'') * Rufous-rumped lark (as ''Alauda erythropygia'') * Desert lark (as ''Alauda deserti'') * Middle East desert lark (as ''Alauda isabellina'') * Bar-tailed lark (arenicolor) (as ''Alauda arenicolor'') * Senegal chestnut-backed finch-lark (as ''Alauda melanocephala'') * Ashy-crowned sparrow-lark (as ''Alauda grisea'') * Congo Sabota lark (as ''Alauda plebeja'') * Bradfield's lark (as ''Alauda naevia'') * Pink-breasted lark (as ''Alauda poecilosterna'') *

Karoo lark ''The Karoo lark should not be confused with the similarly named Karoo long-billed lark.'' The Karoo lark (''Calendulauda albescens'') or red-backed lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is endemic to South Africa where its nat ...

(as ''Alauda albescens'') * Karoo lark (codea) (as ''Alauda codea'') * Karoo lark (guttata) (as ''Alauda guttata'') *

Dune lark The dune lark (''Calendulauda erythrochlamys'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is endemic to Namibia where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland. Taxonomy and systematics Originally, the dune ...

(as ''Alauda erythrochlamys'') * Eastern clapper lark (as ''Alauda fasciolata'') * Cape clapper lark (as ''Alauda apiata'') *

Woodlark The woodlark or wood lark (''Lullula arborea'') is the only extant species in the lark genus ''Lullula''. It is found across most of Europe, the Middle East, western Asia and the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident (non- migratory) ...

(as ''Alauda arborea'') *

Botha's lark Botha's lark (''Spizocorys fringillaris'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is endemic to South Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland and pastureland. It is threatened by habitat loss. T ...

(as ''Alauda fringillaris'') * Pink-billed lark (as ''Alauda conirostris'') * Sykes's lark (as ''Alauda Deva'') * Large-billed lark (as ''A. magnirostris'') *

Crested lark The crested lark (''Galerida cristata'') is a species of lark widespread across Eurasia and northern Africa. It is a non-migratory bird, but can occasionally be found as a vagrant in Great Britain. Taxonomy and systematics The crested lark was ...

(as ''Alauda cristata'') * Senegal crested lark (as ''Alauda senegallensis'') * Crested lark (leautungensis) (as ''Alauda leautungensis'') * Indian crested lark (as ''Alauda Chendoola'') * Malabar lark (as ''Alauda malabarica'') *

Horned lark The horned lark or shore lark (''Eremophila alpestris'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found across the northern hemisphere. It is known as "horned lark" in North America and "shore lark" in Europe. Taxonomy, evolution and systema ...

(as ''Alauda alpestris'') * Mexican horned lark (as ''Alauda chrysolaema'') *

Shore lark The horned lark or shore lark (''Eremophila alpestris'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found across the northern hemisphere. It is known as "horned lark" in North America and "shore lark" in Europe. Taxonomy, evolution and systema ...

(as ''Alauda flava'') * Southern horned lark (as ''Alauda Penicillata'') * Temminck's lark (as ''Alauda bilopha'') * Mongolian short-toed lark (as ''Alauda Dukhunensis'') *

Red-capped lark The red-capped lark (''Calandrella cinerea'') is a small passerine bird. This lark breeds in the highlands of eastern Africa southwards from Ethiopia and Somaliland. In the south, its range stretches across the continent to Angola and south to ...

(as ''Alauda cinerea'') * Red-capped lark (spleniata) (as ''Alauda spleniata'') *

Greater short-toed lark The greater short-toed lark (''Calandrella brachydactyla'') is a small passerine bird. The current scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name, ''Calandrella'', is a diminutive of ''kalandros'', the calandra lark, and ''brachydactila ...

(as ''Alauda brachydactila'') * Steppe greater short-toed lark (as ''Alauda longipennis'') * Bimaculated lark (as ''Alauda bimaculata'') *

Calandra lark The calandra lark (''Melanocorypha calandra'') or European calandra-lark breeds in warm temperate countries around the Mediterranean and eastwards through Turkey into northern Iran and southern Russia. It is replaced further east by its relative ...

(as ''Alauda calandra'') * Black lark (as ''Alauda yeltoniensis'') * Mongolian lark (as ''Alauda mongolica'') *

Dupont's lark Dupont's lark (''Chersophilus duponti'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae of the monotypic genus ''Chersophilus''. It is found in northern Africa and Spain. Taxonomy and systematics Dupont's lark was originally described by Loui ...

(as ''Alauda Duponti'') * Mediterranean short-toed lark (as ''Alauda rufescens'') * Sand lark (as ''Alauda raytal'')

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q378278 Bird genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus