| Onychoprion | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sooty ternOnychoprion fuscatus | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Laridae |
| Subfamily: | Sterninae |
| Genus: | Onychoprion Wagler, 1832 |
| Type species | |
| Sterna serrata[1] | |
| Species | |
Onychoprion lunatus | |
Onychoprion is agenus of four species ofterns in the familyLaridae. The genus name is fromAncient Greekonux, "claw" or "nail", andprion, "saw".[2] As a group, they have been variously called "brown-winged terns"[3] or "brown-backed terns",[4] though only one species is actually brown; the other three are dark grey or black.
Although the genusOnychoprion was first described in 1832 byJohann Georg Wagler, the species in the genus were generally retained within the larger genusSterna, the genus that holds most terns, until a study in 2005 showed that this treatment wasparaphyletic, with these four species less closely related to typicalSterna terns, than several other terns long treated in other genera likeChlidonias andLarosterna.[3]
Onychoprion diverged early from other terns about 16–18 million years ago, with only the very differentnoddies (Anous andGygis) diverging earlier.[5] Within the genus, Aleutian tern is the most divergent, splitting off from the rest about ten million years ago; then sooty tern diverged about seven to eight million years ago, and finally bridled and spectacled terns diverged from each other about three million years ago.[5]
Three of the four species aretropical, and one has a sub-polar breeding range. Thesooty tern has a pan-tropical distribution; thebridled tern also breeds across the TropicalAtlantic andIndian Ocean but in the centralPacific it is replaced by thespectacled tern. TheAleutian tern breeds aroundAlaska andSiberia but winters in the tropics aroundSouth East Asia.
| Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aleutian tern
| Onychoprion aleuticus (Baird, 1869) Monotypic | Easternmost Siberia and Western Alaska, wintering south to northeastern Australia | Size: Habitat: Diet: | VU |
| Sooty tern
| Onychoprion fuscatus (Linnaeus, 1766) Six subspecies
| Pantropical seas between about 25° North and South latitude | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Bridled tern
| Onychoprion anaethetus (Scopoli, 1786) | Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Pacific Ocean, western Indian Ocean, Caribbean and West Africa. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Spectacled tern
| Onychoprion lunatus (Peale, 1849) Monotypic | tropical Pacific Ocean | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
Manutara is theRapa Nui language name for spectacled and sooty terns. Both arrive atEaster Island and hatch their eggs on the island calledMotu Nui, an event that was used for an annual rite calledTangata manu.
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