NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Australian Tern
Gelochelidon macrotarsa (Gould, 1837)
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.
Australian Tern Gelochelidon macrotarsa, Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
graham_winterflood · 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 Australian tern or Australian gull-billed tern (Gelochelidon macrotarsa) is a tern in the family Laridae, native to Australia. The genus name is from Ancient Greek gelao, "to laugh", and khelidon, "swallow".
Wikipedia contributors, Australian tern; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:38:44.678667+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gelochelidon macrotarsa (Gould, 1837)
- Name authority
- (Gould, 1837)
- Common name
- Australian Tern
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Laridae
- Genus
- Gelochelidon
- 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
- genusGelochelidon C. L. Brehm, 1830
- speciesGelochelidon macrotarsa (Gould, 1837)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Gelochelidon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | LaridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Gelochelidon nilotica cloatesi Mathews, 1924 Mathews, 1924 | synonym |
| Sterna macrotarsa Gould, 1837 Gould, 1837 | synonym |
| Gelochelidon nilotica macrotarsa (Gould, 1837) (Gould, 1837) | synonym |
| Gelochelidon nilotica normani Mathews, 1915 Mathews, 1915 | synonym |
| Sterna nilotica macrotarsa Gould, 1837 Gould, 1837 | 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=1192603 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:9J2N6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.