Royal Tern / Thalasseus maximus
WBN 
Royal Tern
SCI Name:
Protonym: Sterna maxima TablePlanchesEnlum. p.58
Taxonomy: Charadriiformes / Laridae / Thalasseus
Taxonomy Code: royter1
Type Locality: Cayenne, ex Daubenton, pi. 988.
Author: Boddaert
Publish Year: 1783
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.
maximus
L. maximus greatest < super. magnus great.
● ex “Cayenne Gallinule” of Latham 1785 (syn. Aramides cajanea).
● ex “Grand Promérops de la nouvelle Guinée” of Sonnerat 1776 (syn. Epimachus fastosus).
● ex “Tangara des grands bois de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 205, and “Grand Tangara” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (Saltator).
● ex “Hirondelle de Mer de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 988 (Thalasseus).
SUBSPECIES
Royal Tern (African)
SCI Name: Thalasseus maximus albididorsalis
albididorsalis
L. albidus whitish < albus white; dorsalis (properly dorsualis) dorsal, of the back < dorsum back.
Royal Tern (American)
SCI Name: Thalasseus maximus maximus
maximus
L. maximus greatest < super. magnus great.
● ex “Cayenne Gallinule” of Latham 1785 (syn. Aramides cajanea).
● ex “Grand Promérops de la nouvelle Guinée” of Sonnerat 1776 (syn. Epimachus fastosus).
● ex “Tangara des grands bois de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 205, and “Grand Tangara” of de Buffon 1770-1783 (Saltator).
● ex “Hirondelle de Mer de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 988 (Thalasseus).
UPPERCASE: current genus
Uppercase first letter: generic synonym
● and ● See: generic homonyms
lowercase: species and subspecies
●: early names, variants, mispellings
‡: extinct
†: type species
Gr.: ancient Greek
L.: Latin
<: derived from
syn: synonym of
/: separates historical and modern geographic names
ex: based on
TL: type locality
OD: original diagnosis (genus) or original description (species)
