''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 n ...

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)

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 els ...

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 nom ...

''. 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 specimen( ...

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, 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 (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 The sabota lark (''Calendulauda sabota'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in southern Africa in its natural habitats of dry savannah, moist savannah, and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. Taxonomy and systematics ...

(as ''Alauda plebeja'') *

Bradfield's lark The sabota lark (''Calendulauda sabota'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in southern Africa in its natural habitats of dry savannah, moist savannah, and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. Taxonomy and systematics Fo ...

(as ''Alauda naevia'') * Pink-breasted lark (as ''Alauda poecilosterna'') * Karoo lark (as ''Alauda albescens'') * Karoo lark (codea) (as ''Alauda codea'') * Karoo lark (guttata) (as ''Alauda guttata'') * Dune lark (as ''Alauda erythrochlamys'') *

Eastern clapper lark The eastern clapper lark (''Mirafra fasciolata'') is a small passerine bird which breeds in southern Africa. It derives its name from the wing clapping which forms part of its display flight. Taxonomy and systematics The Eastern clapper lark was ...

(as ''Alauda fasciolata'') * Cape clapper lark (as ''Alauda apiata'') * Woodlark (as ''Alauda arborea'') * Botha's lark (as ''Alauda fringillaris'') * Pink-billed lark (as ''Alauda conirostris'') * Sykes's lark (as ''Alauda Deva'') *

Large-billed lark The large-billed lark or southern thick-billed lark (''Galerida magnirostris'') is a small passerine bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, ...

(as ''A. magnirostris'') * Crested lark (as ''Alauda cristata'') *

Senegal 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 senegallensis'') * Crested lark (leautungensis) (as ''Alauda leautungensis'') *

Indian 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 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 syste ...

(as ''Alauda alpestris'') *

Mexican 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 syste ...

(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 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 Penicillata'') *

Temminck's lark Temminck's lark (''Eremophila bilopha'') or Temminck's horned lark, is a bird species of the family Alaudidae. It breeds across much of north Africa, through northern Saudi Arabia to western Iraq. It is mainly resident, but some populations of ...

(as ''Alauda bilopha'') *

Mongolian short-toed lark The Mongolian short-toed lark or Sykes's short-toed lark (''Calandrella dukhunensis'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It breeds in China and Mongolia and winters in southern Asia. Taxonomy and systematics The Mongolian short-toed ...

(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 t ...

(as ''Alauda cinerea'') * Red-capped lark (spleniata) (as ''Alauda spleniata'') * Greater short-toed lark (as ''Alauda brachydactila'') *

Steppe 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 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 relati ...

(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 Louis J ...

(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