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Onychoprion

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Kingdom
  
Scientific name
  
Onychoprion

Rank
  
Genus

Phylum
  
Chordata

Family
  
Sternidae

Higher classification
  
Tern

Onychoprion httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Lower classifications
  

Bridled terns onychoprion anaethetus sterna anaethetus


Onychoprion, the "brown-backed terns", is a genus of seabirds in the tern family. The genus name is from Ancient Greek onux, "claw", and "prion", nail.

Contents

Although the genus was first described in 1832 by Johann Georg Wagler the four species in the genus were until 2005 retained in the larger genus Sterna, the genus that holds most terns.

Three of the four species are tropical, and one has a sub-polar breeding range. The sooty tern has a pan-tropical distribution; the bridled tern also breeds across the Tropical Atlantic and Indian Ocean but in the central Pacific it is replaced by the spectacled tern. The Aleutian tern breeds around Alaska and Siberia but winters in the tropics around South East Asia.

  • Genus Onychoprion – "brown-backed" terns.
  • Spectacled tern, Onychoprion lunatus
  • Bridled tern, Onychoprion anaethetus
  • Sooty tern, Onychoprion fuscatus
  • Aleutian tern, Onychoprion aleuticus
  • Manutara is the Rapa Nui language name for spectacled and sooty terns. Both arrive at Easter Island and hatch their eggs on the island called Motu Nui, an event that was used for an annual rite called Tangata manu.

    Bridled tern onychoprion anaethetus


    References

    Onychoprion Wikipedia


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