The suborder Lari is the part of the order Charadriiformes that includes the gulls, terns, skuas and skimmers; the rest of the order is made up of the waders and snipes. The auks are now placed into the Lari too, following recent research.
[1] Sometimes, the buttonquails are also placed here, but the molecular data and fossil record rather suggests they are a quite basal offshoot along with the snipe-like and aberrant waders.[2]
The larids are generally larger species that take fish from the sea. Several gulls and skuas will also take food items from beaches, or rob smaller species, and some have become adapted to inland environments.
The suborder Lari includes five to six families:[3][4]
A family level phylogeny of the suborder Lari based a study by Heiner Kuhl and collaborators published in 2020.[5] The families and the number of species are from the list maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithologists' Union.[4]
^Paton et al., 2003; Thomas et al., 2004; Paton & Baker, 2006
^Cracraft, Joel (2013). Dickinson, E.C.; Remsen, J.V. Jr. (eds.). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 1: Non-passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. pp. xxxvii–xxxviii. ISBN978-0-9568611-0-8.
Paton, Tara A.; Baker, Allan J. (2006). "Sequences from 14 mitochondrial genes provide a well-supported phylogeny of the Charadriiform birds congruent with the nuclear RAG-1 tree". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 39 (3): 657–667. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.01.011. PMID16531074.
Paton, T. A.; Baker, A. J.; Groth, J. G.; Barrowclough, G. F. (2003). "RAG-1 sequences resolve phylogenetic relationships within charadriiform birds". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 29 (2): 268–278. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00098-8. PMID13678682.
