NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Melodious Lark
Mirafra cheniana A. Smith, 1843
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.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Mirafra cheniana A. Smith, 1843
- Name authority
- A. Smith, 1843
- Common name
- Melodious Lark
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Alaudidae
- Genus
- Mirafra
- 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
- orderPasseriformes
- familyAlaudidae Vigors, 1825
- genusMirafra Horsfield, 1821
- speciesMirafra cheniana A. Smith, 1843
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Mirafra. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| White-tailed LarkMirafra albicauda Reichenow, 1891 | AlaudidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Singing Bush LarkMirafra javanica Horsfield, 1821 | AlaudidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Monotonous LarkMirafra passerina Gyldenstolpe, 1926 | AlaudidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Friedmann's LarkMirafra pulpa Friedmann, 1930 | AlaudidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Williams's LarkMirafra williamsi Macdonald, 1956 | AlaudidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
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.
- Smith, & Andrew. (1843). Aves. Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa; Consisting Chiefly of Figures and Descriptions of the Objects of Natural History Collected during an Expedition into the Interior of South Africa, in the Years 1834, 1835, and 1836, Vol. 2, Part 19. 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:43LM8. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.