NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Common Crane
Grus grus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The common crane (Grus grus), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane (Grus virgo) and the Siberian crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus) that only are regular in the far eastern part of the continent. Along with the sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis), demoiselle crane and the brolga (Antigone rubicunda), it is one of only four crane species not currently classified as threatened with extinction or conservation dependent on the species level. Despite the species' large numbers, local extinctions and extirpations have taken place in part of its range, and an ongoing reintroduction project is underway in the United Kingdom.
Wikipedia contributors, Common crane; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:20:46.674925+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Grus grus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- Common Crane
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Gruidae
- Genus
- Grus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderGruiformes
- familyGruidae
- subfamilyGruinae
- genusGrus Brisson, 1760
- speciesGrus grus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Grus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese CraneGrus japonensis (P. L. S. Müller, 1776) | GruidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Hooded CraneGrus monacha Temminck, 1835 | GruidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Wattled CraneGrus carunculata (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | GruidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blue CraneGrus paradisea (A. A. H. Lichtenstein, 1793) | GruidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Whooping CraneGrus americana (Linnaeus, 1758) | GruidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Ardea grus Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
| Grus grus archibaldi Ilyashenko, 2008 Ilyashenko, 2008 | synonym |
| Grus grus grus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Grus grus lilfordi Sharpe, 1894 Sharpe, 1894 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
North America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=176183 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3HFDF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.