Alaudala

Alaudala is a genus of lark in the family Alaudidae. The genus name is a diminutive of Alauda.^[2]

Alaudala
Mediterranean short-toed lark (Alaudala rufescens)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Alaudidae
Genus:	Alaudala Horsfield & Moore, F, 1858
Type species
Alauda raytal[1] Blyth, 1844
Species
see text

Taxonomy and systematics

A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2020 compared the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from the sand, Asian short-toed, and lesser short-toed larks. The study analysed samples from 130 individuals that represented 16 of the 18 recognised subspecies. The resulting phylogenetic tree indicated that neither the Asian short-toed lark, nor the lesser short-toed lark as currently defined are monophyletic. Most of the subspecies were also found to be non-monophyletic. The authors refrained from proposing a revised taxonomy until additional studies had been completed comparing the vocalizations, sexual behaviour and ecology.^[3]

Species

The genus Alaudala contains the following species:^[4][5]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Alaudala athensis	Athi short-toed lark	southern Kenya and northern Tanzania
	Alaudala cheleensis	Asian short-toed lark	south-central to eastern Asia.
	Alaudala somalica	Somali short-toed lark	eastern and northeastern Africa.
	Alaudala rufescens	Mediterranean short-toed lark	Mediterranean Basin and parts of the Middle East
	Alaudala heinei	Turkestan short-toed lark	Siberia west to Turkey and north to Ukraine
	Alaudala raytal	Sand lark	Gangetic plains

References

1. "Alaudidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
2. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, United Kingdom: Christopher Helm. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
3. Ghorbani, F.; Aliabadian, M.; Zhang, R.; Irestedt, M.; Hao, Y.; Sundev, G.; Lei, F.; Ma, M.; Olsson, U.; Alström, P. (2020). "Densely sampled phylogenetic analyses of the Lesser Short-toed Lark (Alaudala rufescens) — Sand Lark (A. raytal) species complex (Aves, Passeriformes) reveal cryptic diversity". Zoologica Scripta. 49 (4): 427–439. doi:10.1111/zsc.12422.
4. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Nicators, reedling, larks". IOC World Bird List Version 10.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
5. "Species Updates – IOC World Bird List". Retrieved 2021-01-12.