Larus
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 Herring Gull
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Many, see list |
Larus is a large genus of seabirds to which most gulls belong. It has a world-wide distribution, and many of its species are abundant and well-known birds in their ranges.
They are in general medium to large birds, typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet.
The taxonomy of the large gulls in the Herring and Lesser Black-backed complex is very complicated, different authorities recognising between two and eight species.
[edit] Systematics and evolution
List of species
- Dolphin Gull, Larus scoresbii
- Pacific Gull, Larus pacificus
- Belcher's Gull, Larus belcheri
- Olrog's Gull, Larus atlanticus
- Black-tailed Gull, Larus crassirostris
- Grey Gull, Larus modestus
- Heermann's Gull, Larus heermanni
- White-eyed Gull, Larus leucophthalmus
- Sooty Gull, Larus hemprichii
- Common Gull or Mew Gull, Larus canus
- Audouin's Gull, Larus audouinii
- Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis
- California Gull, Larus californicus
- Great Black-backed Gull, Larus marinus
- Kelp Gull, Larus dominicanus
- Glaucous-winged Gull, Larus glaucescens
- Western Gull, Larus occidentalis
- Yellow-footed Gull, Larus livens
- Glaucous Gull, Larus hyperboreus
- Iceland Gull, Larus glaucoides
- Thayer's Gull, Larus thayeri
- Herring Gull, Larus argentatus
- Heuglin's Gull, Larus heuglini
- American Herring Gull, Larus smithsonianus
- Yellow-legged Gull, Larus michahellis
- Caspian Gull, Larus cachinnans
- East Siberian Herring Gull, Larus vegae
A Herring Gull (front) and a Lesser Black-backed Gull (behind) in Poland: two species with clear differences.
- Birula's Gull, Larus vegae birulai
- Armenian Gull, Larus armenicus
- Slaty-backed Gull, Larus schistisagus
- Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus
- Great Black-headed Gull, Larus ichthyaetus
- Brown-headed Gull, Larus brunnicephalus
- Grey-headed Gull, Larus cirrocephalus
- Hartlaub's Gull, Larus hartlaubii
- Silver Gull, Larus novaehollandiae
- Red-billed Gull, Larus scopulinus
- Black-billed Gull, Larus bulleri
- Brown-hooded Gull, Larus maculipennis
- Black-headed Gull, Larus ridibundus
- Slender-billed Gull, Larus genei
- Bonaparte's Gull, Larus philadelphia
- Saunders' Gull, Larus saundersi
- Andean Gull, Larus serranus
- Mediterranean Gull, Larus melanocephalus
- Relict Gull, Larus relictus
- Lava Gull, Larus fuliginosus
- Laughing Gull, Larus atricilla
- Franklin's Gull, Larus pipixcan
- Little Gull, Larus minutus
Fossils of Larus gulls are known since the Late Oligocene or Early Miocene, c.23 mya, though allocation of the earliest fossils to this genus is not completely certain. Biogeography of the fossil record suggests that the genus evolved in the northern Atlantic and spread globally during the Pliocene, when species diversity seems to have been highest as with most seabirds.
- Larus elegans (Late Oligocene?/Early Miocene of St-Gérand-le-Puy, France)
- Larus totanoides (Late Oligocene?/Early Miocene of SE France)
- Larus sp. (Grund Middle Miocene of Austria)
- Larus sp. (Middle Miocene of Romania) (Olson, 1985)
- Larus sp. (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, USA) - several species (Olson, 1985)
- Larus elmorei (Bone Valley Early/Middle Pliocene of SE USA)
- Larus lacus (Pinecrest Late Pliocene of SE USA)
- Larus perpetuus (Pinecrest Late Pliocene of SE USA)
- Larus sp. (San Diego Late Pliocene of SW USA)
- Larus oregonus (Late Pliocene - Late Pleistocene of WC USA)
- Larus robustus (Late Pliocene - Late Pleistocene of WC USA)
- Larus sp. (Lake Manix Late Pleistocene of W USA)
The Early Miocene "Larus" desnoyersii (SE France) and "Larus" pristinus (John Day Formation, Willow Creek, USA) probably do not belong into this genus; the former may be a skua (Olson, 1985).
[edit] Ring species
A classic example of ring species is the Larus gulls circumpolar species "ring". The range of these gulls forms a ring around the North Pole. The Herring Gull, which lives primarily in Great Britain, can hybridize with the American Herring Gull (living in North America), which can also interbreed with the Vega or East Siberian Herring Gull, the western subspecies of which, Birula's Gull, can hybridize with Heuglin's gull, which in turn can interbreed with the Siberian Lesser Black-backed Gull (all four of these live across the north of Siberia). The last is the eastern representative of the Lesser Black-backed Gulls back in northewestern Europe, including Great Britain. However, the Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gull are sufficiently different that they cannot interbreed; thus the group of gulls forms a continuum except in Europe where the two lineages meet. A recent genetic study has shown that this example is far more complicated than presented here (Liebers et al, 2004).
[edit] References
- Harrison, Peter (1988): Seabirds (2nd ed.). Christopher Helm, London ISBN 0-7470-1410-8
- Liebers, Dorit; de Knijff, Peter & Helbig, Andreas J. (2004): The herring gull complex is not a ring species. Proc. Roy. Soc. B 271(1542): 893-901. DOI:10.1098/rspb.2004.2679 PDF fulltext Electronic Appendix
- Olson, Storrs L. (1985): Section X.D.2.j. Laridae. In: Farner, D.S.; King, J.R. & Parkes, Kenneth C. (eds.): Avian Biology 8: 181-182. Academic Press, New York.
