NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Large-billed Tern
Phaetusa simplex (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
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.
Large-billed tern
Andreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The large-billed tern (Phaetusa simplex) is a species of tern in the family Laridae. It is placed the monotypic genus Phaetusa. It is found in most of South America (east of the Andes and north of the Pampas). It has occurred as a vagrant in Aruba, Bermuda, Cuba, Panama and the United States. Its natural habitats are rivers and freshwater lakes.
Wikipedia contributors, Large-billed tern; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:29:54.330589+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Phaetusa simplex (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
- Name authority
- (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
- Common name
- Large-billed Tern
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Laridae
- Genus
- Phaetusa
- 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
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyLaridae
- genusPhaetusa Wagler, 1832
- speciesPhaetusa simplex (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Phaetusa simplex chloropoda (Vieillot, 1819) (Vieillot, 1819) | synonym |
| Sterna simplex J. F. Gmelin, 1789 J. F. Gmelin, 1789 | synonym |
| Sterna chloropoda Vieillot, 1819 Vieillot, 1819 | synonym |
| Phaetusa simplex simplex (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
South 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=176948 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.
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:4FQ32. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.