Lesser Crested Tern

SCI Name:  Thalasseus bengalensis
Protonym:  Sterna bengalensis TraitedOrn. livr.8 p.621
Taxonomy:  Charadriiformes / Laridae / Thalasseus
Taxonomy Code:  lecter2
Type Locality:  Coasts of India.
Author:  Lesson
Publish Year:  1831
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

THALASSEUS
(Laridae; Ϯ Sandwich Tern T. sandvicensis) Gr. θαλασσευς thalasseus  fisherman  < θαλασσα thalassa, θαλασσης thalassēs  sea; "140. Gattung. Thalasseus. ³   358. caspia.  359. cantiaca.  360. anglica.   ...   ³ Unterscheidendes Merkmal der Gattung, der verhältnißmäßig größere und dickere Schnabel." (Boie 1822); "Genus Thalasseus Fr. Boie l. c.  ...  1. Th. cantiacus (Turopa [sic])  ...  2. Th. velox. (Africa)" (Wagler 1832); "Thalasseus Boie, Isis von Oken, 1822, Bd. 1, col. 563. Type, by subsequent designation, "Th. cantiacus" = Sterna cantiaca Gmelin = Sterna sandvicensis Latham (Wagler, Isis von Oken, 1832, col. 1225)." (Peters 1934, II, 341).
Synon. Actochelidon, Pelecanopus, Thalassema.
● (syn. Hydroprogne Ϯ Caspian Tern H. caspia) "THALASSEUS, Boie, 1822.  ...  (Sterna caspia, Pall.)" (G. Gray 1855).  Var. Thallaseus.

bengalensis
Bengal, India (from local name Bangala). Historically, Bengal comprised the greater part of northern India.
● ex “Little Indian Kingfisher” of Edwards 1743, “Ispida Bengalensis” of Brisson 1760, “Martin-pêcheur de Bengale” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Indian Kingsfisher” of Latham 1782 (subsp. Alcedo atthis).
● ex “Lark-heeled Cuckow” of Brown 1776, and Latham 1782 (Centropus).
● ex “Bengal Vulture” of Latham 1781 (Gyps).
● ex “Indian Bustard” of Edwards 1758, and Latham 1783, “Pluvialis bengalensis major” of Brisson 1760, and “Churge” or “Outarde moyenne des Indes” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (Houbaropsis).

SUBSPECIES

Lesser Crested Tern (emigratus)
SCI Name: Thalasseus bengalensis emigratus
emigrata / emigratus
L. emigratus  removed, departed  < emigrare  to emigrate.

Lesser Crested Tern (bengalensis)
SCI Name: Thalasseus bengalensis bengalensis
bengalensis
Bengal, India (from local name Bangala). Historically, Bengal comprised the greater part of northern India.
● ex “Little Indian Kingfisher” of Edwards 1743, “Ispida Bengalensis” of Brisson 1760, “Martin-pêcheur de Bengale” of de Buffon 1770-1783, and “Indian Kingsfisher” of Latham 1782 (subsp. Alcedo atthis).
● ex “Lark-heeled Cuckow” of Brown 1776, and Latham 1782 (Centropus).
● ex “Bengal Vulture” of Latham 1781 (Gyps).
● ex “Indian Bustard” of Edwards 1758, and Latham 1783, “Pluvialis bengalensis major” of Brisson 1760, and “Churge” or “Outarde moyenne des Indes” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (Houbaropsis).

Lesser Crested Tern (torresii)
SCI Name: Thalasseus bengalensis torresii
torresii
Torres Strait, between Queensland, Australia, and Papua New Guinea (named after Spanish explorer Luis Váez de Torres, who sailed throught the strait 1606).