NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
River Lapwing
Vanellus duvaucelii (R. Lesson, 1826)
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 river lapwing (Vanellus duvaucelii) is a lapwing species which breeds from the Indian subcontinent eastwards to Southeast Asia. It range includes much of northern and northeastern India, and extends through Southeast Asia to Vietnam. It appears to be entirely sedentary. Formerly also called spur-winged lapwing, this name is better reserved for one of the "spur-winged plovers" of old, Vanellus spinosus of Africa, whose scientific name it literally translates. The masked lapwing of Australasia was at one time also called "spur-winged plover" (and still is in New Zealand), completing the name confusion.
This species resembles the closely related spur-winged lapwing of Africa, and has sometimes been considered conspecific. The species name commemorates Alfred Duvaucel.
Wikipedia contributors, River lapwing; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:30:40.071597+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Vanellus duvaucelii (R. Lesson, 1826)
- Name authority
- (R. Lesson, 1826)
- Common name
- River Lapwing
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Charadriidae
- Genus
- Vanellus
- 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
- familyCharadriidae Leach, 1820
- genusVanellus Brisson, 1760
- speciesVanellus duvaucelii (R. Lesson, 1826)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Vanellus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Red-wattled LapwingVanellus indicus (Boddaert, 1783) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sociable LapwingVanellus gregarius (Pallas, 1771) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Crowned LapwingVanellus coronatus (Boddaert, 1783) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gray-headed LapwingVanellus cinereus (Blyth, 1842) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Southern LapwingVanellus chilensis (Molina, 1782) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-winged LapwingVanellus melanopterus (Cretzschmar, 1829) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Spot-breasted LapwingVanellus melanocephalus (Rüppell, 1845) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-wattled LapwingVanellus malabaricus (Boddaert, 1783) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Javan LapwingVanellus macropterus (Wagler, 1827) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Senegal LapwingVanellus lugubris (R. Lesson, 1826) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Northern LapwingVanellus vanellus (Linnaeus, 1758) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Banded LapwingVanellus tricolor (Vieillot, 1818) | CharadriidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Charadrius duvaucelli R. Lesson, 1826 R. Lesson, 1826 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=563660 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:7FFJ5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.