NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Little Raven
Corvus mellori Mathews, 1912
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 little raven (Corvus mellori) is a species of the family Corvidae that is native to southeastern Australia. An adult individual is about 48–50 cm (19–19.5 in) in length, with completely black plumage, beak, and legs; as with all Australian species of Corvus, the black feathers have a grey base, and the iris of the adult bird is white (typical also of some related species from islands to the north of Australia). Although the little raven was first named by Gregory Mathews in 1912, it was only in 1967 that there was consensus to separate it from the Australian raven (C. coronoides) as a distinct species.
Wikipedia contributors, Little raven; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:54:54.111938+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Corvus mellori Mathews, 1912
- Name authority
- Mathews, 1912
- Common name
- Little Raven
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Corvidae
- Genus
- Corvus
- 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
- familyCorvidae Leach, 1820
- genusCorvus Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesCorvus mellori Mathews, 1912
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Corvus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Brown-headed CrowCorvus fuscicapillus G. R. Gray, 1859 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Samar CrowCorvus samarensis Steere, 1890 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Philippine Jungle CrowCorvus philippinus (Bonaparte, 1853) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Little CrowCorvus bennetti North, 1901 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Northern RavenCorvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Hooded CrowCorvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Carrion CrowCorvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Thick-billed RavenCorvus crassirostris Rüppell, 1836 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chihuahuan RavenCorvus cryptoleucus Couch, 1854 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Indian Jungle CrowCorvus culminatus Sykes, 1832 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Somali CrowCorvus edithae Lort Phillips, 1895 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Flores CrowCorvus florensis Büttikofer, 1894 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Corvus marianae mellori Mathews, 1912 Mathews, 1912 | 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=559505 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:YNJ6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.