''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the
grouse
Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondr ...
subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse.
Taxonomy
The
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''Tetrao'' was introduced in 1758 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, the ...
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 nomen ...
''.
The genus name is the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
word for a game bird, probably a
black grouse
The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and step ...
. The black grouse was included by Linnaeus in the genus ''Tetrao'' but is now placed in the genus ''
Lyrurus
''Lyrurus'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily. They are known as black grouse because the male's plumage of both species is colored black as its base colour.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Lyrurus'' was introduced in 1832 by the English natural ...
''.
[ 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 designated as the western capercaillie
The western capercaillie (''Tetrao urogallus''), also known as the Eurasian capercaillie, wood grouse, heather cock, cock-of-the-woods, or simply capercaillie , is a heavy member of the grouse family and the largest of all extant grouse species. ...
(''Tetrao urogallus'') by George Robert Gray
George Robert Gray FRS (8 July 1808 – 6 May 1872) was an English zoologist and author, and head of the ornithological section of the British Museum, now the Natural History Museum, in London for forty-one years. He was the younger brother o ...
in 1840.
Species
The genus contains two species:
The fossil record
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...
of this genus is extensive:
* ''Tetrao conjugens
''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Tetrao'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ...
'' (Early Pliocene of C Europe)
* ''Tetrao rhodopensis
''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Tetrao'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ...
'' (Early Pliocene of Dorkovo, Bulgaria)
* ''Tetrao partium
''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Tetrao'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ...
'' (Early Pliocene - Early Pleistocene of SE Europe)
* ''Tetrao macropus
''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Tetrao'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ...
'' (Late Pliocene - Early Pleistocene of Hungary)
* ''Tetrao praeurogallus
''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Tetrao'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ...
'' (Early - Middle Pleistocene of E Europe)
References
Bird genera
{{Galliformes-stub
ru:Тетерева