''Lullula'' is the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of woodlarks,

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5000 ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Alaudidae Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark occ ...

. There is only one remaining extant species, the

woodlark The woodlark or wood lark (''Lullula arborea'') is the only extant species in the lark genus ''Lullula''. It is found across most of Europe, the Middle East, western Asia and the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident (non- migratory) ...

which is found in Europe, the mountains of northern Africa, the Middle East and western Asia. The remainder are known only from the fossil record.

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus ''Lullula'' was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829. The genus ''Lullula'' is onomatopoeic from the French ''Lulu'', the name given by de Buffon. Both the French name, ''Alouette lulu'' and the genus name are derived from the sound of its song. The genus contain a single extant

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, the

(''Lullula arborea'').

Extinct species

* †''Lullula balcanica'' - late Pliocene of

Varshets Varshets ( bg, Вършец, variously transliterated; ) is a spa town in Montana Province, northwestern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Varshets Municipality. As of December 2019, its population is 5,444. The town ...

, BulgariaBoev, Z. 2012. Neogene Larks (Aves: Alaudidae (Vigors, 1825)) from Bulgaria - Acta zoologica bulgarica, 64 (3), 2012: 295-318. * †''Lullula slivnicensis'' - late Pliocene of Slivnitsa, Bulgaria * †''Lullula minor'' - late Miocene of Polgardi, HungaryKessler, E. 2013. Neogene songbirds (Aves, Passeriformes) from Hungary. – Hantkeniana, Budapest, 2013, 8: 37-149. * †''Lullula parva'' - Pliocene of Csarnota, Hungary * †''Lullula minuscula'' - Pliocene of Beremend, Hungary * †''Lullula neogradensis'' - Miocene of Mátraszőlős, Hungary

References

Alaudidae Bird genera Bird genera with one living species {{Alaudidae-stub