Lapwing (1787 Sloop)
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Lapwings (
subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...
Vanellinae) are any of various ground-nesting birds (
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Charadriidae The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. The family contains 69 species that are divided into 10 genera. Taxonomy The family Charadriidae was introduced (as Charadriadæ) by the English zoologist William El ...
) akin to
plover Plovers ( , ) are members of a widely distributed group of wader, wading birds of subfamily Charadriinae. The term "plover" applies to all the members of the subfamily, though only about half of them include it in their name. Species lis ...
s and
dotterel The Eurasian dotterel (''Eudromias morinellus''), also known in Europe as just dotterel, is a small wader in the plover family of birds. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Eudromias''. The dotterel is a brown-and-black-streaked bird ...
s. They range from in length. The traditional terms "plover", "lapwing", and "dotterel" do not correspond exactly to current taxonomic models; thus, several of the Vanellinae are often called plovers, and
one 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
a dotterel, while a few of the "true" plovers (subfamily Charadriinae) are known colloquially as lapwings. In general, a lapwing can be thought of as a larger plover. In Europe's Anglophone countries, ''lapwing'' refers specifically to the
northern lapwing The northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''), also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tewit, green plover, or (in Ireland and Great Britain) pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Palearcti ...
, the only member of this group to occur in most of the continent and thus the first bird to go by the English name ''lapwing'' (also known as ''peewit'' or ''pyewipe''). In the fanciful taxonomy promoted by medieval
courtesy book A courtesy book (also book of manners) was a didactic manual of knowledge for courtiers to handle matters of etiquette, socially acceptable behaviour, and personal morals, with an especial emphasis upon life in a royal court; the genre of courtesy ...
s, a group of lapwings was called a "deceit".


Systematics

While authorities generally agree that there are approximately 25 species of Vanellinae, classifications within the subfamily remain confused. Some workers have gone so far as to group all the "true" lapwings (except the
red-kneed dotterel The red-kneed dotterel (''Erythrogonys cinctus'') is a species of plover in a monotypic genus in the subfamily Vanellinae. It is often gregarious and will associate with other waders of its own and different species, even when nesting. It is ...
) into the single genus ''Vanellus''. Current consensus favors a more moderate position, but it is unclear which genera to split. The ''
Handbook of Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. ...
'' provisionally places all Vanellinae in ''Vanellus'' except the red-kneed dotterel, which is in the
monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...
''Erythrogonys''. Its
plesiomorphic In phylogenetics, a plesiomorphy ("near form") and symplesiomorphy are synonyms for an ancestral character shared by all members of a clade, which does not distinguish the clade from other clades. Plesiomorphy, symplesiomorphy, apomorphy, an ...
habitus resembles that of
plover Plovers ( , ) are members of a widely distributed group of wader, wading birds of subfamily Charadriinae. The term "plover" applies to all the members of the subfamily, though only about half of them include it in their name. Species lis ...
s, but details like the missing
hallux Toes are the digits of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plantigrade''; ...
(hind toe) are like those of lapwings: it is still not entirely clear whether it is better considered the most basal plover or lapwing. The
IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...
also recognizes a monotypic genus '' Hoploxypterus'' for the
pied plover The pied plover (''Hoploxypterus cayanus''), also known as the pied lapwing, is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. It is a bird of least concern according to the IUCN and can be found in northern South America. The species name ''cayan ...
. Many coloration details of the red-kneed dotterel also occur here and there among the living members of the main lapwing
clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...
. Its position as the most basal of the living Vanellinae or just immediately outside it thus means that their
last common ancestor A most recent common ancestor (MRCA), also known as a last common ancestor (LCA), is the most recent individual from which all organisms of a set are inferred to have descended. The most recent common ancestor of a higher taxon is generally assu ...
– or even the last common ancestor of plovers and lapwings – almost certainly was a plover-sized bird with a black crown and breast-band, a white feather patch at the wrist, no hallux, and a
lipochrom Carotenoids () are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, corn, tomatoes, canarie ...
ic (probably red) bill with a black tip. Its legs were most likely black or the color of the bill's base.Piersma & Wiersma (1996)


Evolution

The
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...
record of the Vanellinae is scant and mostly recent in origin; no
Neogene The Neogene ( ,) is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period million years ago. It is the second period of th ...
lapwings seem to be known. On the other hand, it appears as if early in their
evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
ary history the plovers, lapwings and dotterels must have been almost one and the same, and they are hard to distinguish
osteological Osteology () is the scientific study of bones, practiced by osteologists . A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, archaeology and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone morp ...
ly even today. Thus, since the Red-kneed Dotterel is so distinct that it might arguably be considered a
monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...
subfamily, reliably dating its divergence from a selection of true lapwings and plovers would also give a good idea of charadriid wader evolution altogether. A mid-
Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...
– c.28 mya (
million years ago Million years ago, abbreviated as Mya, Myr (megayear) or Ma (megaannum), is a unit of time equal to (i.e. years), or approximately 31.6 teraseconds. Usage Myr is in common use in fields such as Earth science and cosmology. Myr is also used w ...
) – fossil from
Rupelmonde Rupelmonde is a village in the municipality of Kruibeke, in the Belgian province of East Flanders. It is located on the banks of the river Schelde opposite the confluence with the eponymous Rupel, and is known for its sundials as well as havin ...
in
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
has been assigned to ''Vanellus'', but even if the genus were broadly defined, it is entirely unclear if the placement is correct. Its age ties in with the appearance of the first seemingly distinct Charadriinae at about the same time, and with the presence of more basal Charadriidae a few million years earlier. However, the assignment of fragmentary fossils to Charadriinae or Vanellinae is not easy. Thus, it is very likely that the charadriid waders originate around the
Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...
-Oligocene boundary – roughly 40–30 mya – but nothing more can be said at present. If the Belgian fossil is not a true lapwing, there are actually no Vanellinae fossils known before the
Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...
. The
Early Oligocene The Rupelian is, in the geologic timescale, the older of two age (geology), ages or the lower of two stage (stratigraphy), stages of the Oligocene epoch (geology), Epoch/series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans the time between . It is preceded b ...
fossil '' Dolicopterus'' from Ronzon, France may be such an ancestral member of the Charadriidae or even the Vanellinae, but it has not been studied in recent decades and is in dire need of review. Apart from the
prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins  million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
''Vanellus'', the
extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
lapwing genus ''
Viator Viator is a municipality of Almería province, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. José Brocca lived here. Demographics See also *List of municipalities in Almería Almería (province), Almería is a provinces of Spain, pro ...
'' has been described from fossils. Its remains were found in the
tar pit Tar pits, sometimes referred to as asphalt pits, are large Bitumen, asphalt deposits. They form in the presence of petroleum, which is created when decayed organic matter is subjected to pressure underground. If this crude oil seeps upward via ...
s of
Talara Talara is a city in the Talara Province of the Piura Region, in northwestern Peru. It is a port city on the Pacific Ocean with a population of 91,444 as of 2017. Its climate is hot and dry. Due to its oil reserves, and ability to produce aviati ...
in
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
and it lived in the
Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as the Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division ...
. Little is known of this rather large lapwing; it may actually belong in ''Vanellus''.Campbell (2002) The remaining
Charadrii FIle:Vadare - Ystad-2021.jpg, 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, forage for food c ...
are highset and/or chunky birds, even decidedly larger than a lot of the scolopacid waders. The evolutionary trend regarding the Charadriidae – which make up most of the diversity of the Charadrii – thus runs contrary to
Cope's Rule Cope's rule, named after American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope, postulates that population lineages tend to increase in body size over evolutionary time. It was never actually stated by Cope, although he favoured the occurrence of linear e ...
.


List of species in taxonomic order

Genus ''
Vanellus ''Vanellus'' is the genus of waders which provisionally contains all lapwings except red-kneed dotterel, ''Erythrogonys cinctus''. The name "''vanellus''" is Latin for "little fan", ''vanellus'' being the diminutive of ''vannus'' ("Winnowing#In ...
'' *
Northern lapwing The northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''), also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tewit, green plover, or (in Ireland and Great Britain) pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Palearcti ...
, ''Vanellus vanellus'' *
White-headed lapwing The white-crowned lapwing, white-headed lapwing, white-headed plover or white-crowned plover (''Vanellus albiceps'') is a medium-sized wader. It is resident throughout tropical Africa, usually near large rivers. Description This lapwing is unmi ...
, ''Vanellus albiceps'' *
Southern lapwing The southern lapwing (''Vanellus chilensis''), commonly called quero-quero in Brazil, or tero in Argentina and Uruguay, tero-tero in Paraguay, and queltehue in Chile is a wader in the order Charadriiformes. It is a common and widespread resident ...
, ''Vanellus chilensis'' * Grey-headed lapwing, ''Vanellus cinereus'' * Crowned lapwing, ''Vanellus coronatus'' *
Long-toed lapwing The long-toed lapwing (''Vanellus crassirostris''), also known as the long-toed plover, is a species of wading bird in the lapwing subfamily, within the family Charadriidae. It is mainly sedentary and found across central and eastern Africa, fro ...
, ''Vanellus crassirostris'' * River lapwing or spur-winged lapwing, ''Vanellus duvaucelii'' *
Red-wattled lapwing The red-wattled lapwing (''Vanellus indicus'') is an Asian lapwing or large plover, a wader in the family Charadriidae. Like other lapwings they are ground birds that are incapable of perching. Their characteristic loud alarm calls are indicat ...
, ''Vanellus indicus'' *
Masked lapwing The masked lapwing (''Vanellus miles'') is a large, common and conspicuous bird native to Australia (particularly the northern and eastern parts of the continent), New Zealand and New Guinea. It spends most of its time on the ground searching for ...
, ''Vanellus miles'' *
Spur-winged lapwing The spur-winged lapwing or spur-winged plover (''Vanellus spinosus'') is a lapwing species, one of a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. Taxonomy The spur-winged lapwing was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist ...
or spur-winged plover, ''Vanellus spinosus'' *
Banded lapwing The banded lapwing (''Vanellus tricolor'') is a small to medium-sized shorebird, found in small parties or large flocks on bare ground in open grasslands, agricultural land and open savannah. It is native to Australia and in the past considered ...
, ''Vanellus tricolor'' *
Blacksmith lapwing The blacksmith lapwing or blacksmith plover (''Vanellus armatus'') is a lapwing species that occurs commonly from Kenya through central Tanzania to southern and southwestern Africa. The vernacular name derives from the repeated metallic 'tink, ti ...
, ''Vanellus armatus'' *
Black-headed lapwing The black-headed lapwing or black-headed plover (''Vanellus tectus'') is a large lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is a resident breeder across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia, although it has seasona ...
, ''Vanellus tectus'' *
Yellow-wattled lapwing The yellow-wattled lapwing (''Vanellus malabaricus'') is a lapwing that is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent. It is found mainly on the dry plains of peninsular India and has a sharp call and is capable of fast flight. Although they do not migra ...
, ''Vanellus malabaricus'' * Senegal lapwing, ''Vanellus lugubris'' * Black-winged lapwing, ''Vanellus melanopterus'' * African wattled lapwing, ''Vanellus senegallus'' * Spot-breasted lapwing, ''Vanellus melanocephalus'' * Brown-chested lapwing, ''Vanellus superciliosus'' * Javanese wattled lapwing, ''Vanellus macropterus'' *
Sociable lapwing The sociable lapwing (''Vanellus gregarius''), referred to as the sociable plover in the UK, is a wader in the plover family. It is a fully migratory bird, breeding in Kazakhstan and wintering in the Middle East, Indian subcontinent, and Sudan. ...
, ''Vanellus gregarius'' *
White-tailed lapwing The white-tailed lapwing or white-tailed plover (''Vanellus leucurus'') is a wader in the lapwing genus. The genus name ''Vanellus'' is Medieval Latin for a lapwing and derives from ''vannus'' a winnowing fan. The specific ''leucurus'' is from A ...
, ''Vanellus leucurus'' *
Andean lapwing The Andean lapwing (''Vanellus resplendens'') is a species of bird in family Charadriidae, the plovers and their relatives. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Taxonomy and systematics The Andean lapwing wa ...
, ''Vanellus resplendens'' Genus ''Hoploxypterus'' *
Pied lapwing The pied plover (''Hoploxypterus cayanus''), also known as the pied lapwing, is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. It is a bird of least concern according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN and can be found in ...
, ''Hoploxypterus cayanus'' Genus ''Erythrogonys'' *
Red-kneed dotterel The red-kneed dotterel (''Erythrogonys cinctus'') is a species of plover in a monotypic genus in the subfamily Vanellinae. It is often gregarious and will associate with other waders of its own and different species, even when nesting. It is ...
, ''Erythrogonys cinctus''


Footnotes


References

* Campbell, Kenneth E. Jr. (2002). A new species of Late Pleistocene lapwing from Rancho La Brea, California nglish with Spanish abstract ''
Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua language, Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. One species, the And ...
'' 104: 170–174. DOI:10.1650/0010-5422(2002)104 170:ANSOLP.0.CO;2HTML abstract and first page image
* Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002). ''Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe''. Ninox Press, Prague. PDF fulltext
!-- This should be treated with extreme caution as regards merging of species. Splits are usually good though. See also critical review in Auk121:623-627 here http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3793/is_200404/ai_n9396879 --> * Piersma, Theunis & Wiersma, Popko (1996). Family Charadriidae (Plovers). ''In:'' del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew & Sargatal, Jordi (eds.): ''
Handbook of Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. ...
'' (Volume 3: Hoatzin to Auks): 384–443, plates 35–39. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. * Thomas, Gavin H.; Wills, Matthew A. & Székely, Tamás (2004). A supertree approach to shorebird phylogeny. '' BMC Evol. Biol.'' 4: 28. PDF fulltextSupplementary Material
{{Authority control * Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte