- Black-bellied Tern
Taxobox
name = Black-bellied Tern
status = NT | status_system = IUCN3.1
trend = down
image_size = 240px
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Charadriiformes
familia =Sternidae
genus = "Sterna "
species = "S. acuticauda"
binomial = "Sterna acuticauda"
binomial_authority = Gray, 1832The Black-bellied Tern ("Sterna acuticauda") is a
tern found near large rivers inSouth Asia . They have a black belly in the summer and a deep forked tail. They can sometimes resembleWhiskered Tern s but the deeper fork and the black on the lower belly distinguish it from the shallow fork and black closer to the breast on the Whiskered Tern. Considering thatmtDNA sequence analysis supports moving the similarBlack-fronted Tern ("Sterna" albostriata") into "Chlidonias", this species might also be better placed in that genus, but no research has yet been conducted.References
* Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is near threatened
* Bridge, E. S.; Jones, A. W. & Baker, A. J. (2005): A phylogenetic framework for the terns (Sternini) inferred from mtDNA sequences: implications for taxonomy and plumage evolution. "Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution" 35: 459–469. [http://www2.hawaii.edu/~khayes/Journal_Club/summer2006/Bridge_et_al_2005_MPE.pdf PDF fulltext] .
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