Laterallus

Laterallus is a genus of birds in the rail family Rallidae. These small, relatively short-billed terrestrial rails are found among dense vegetation near water in the Neotropics, although a single species, the black rail, also occurs in the United States.

Taxonomy

The genus was erected by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1855 with the rufous-sided crake (Laterallus melanophaius) as the type species. The genus name is a portmanteau of Rallus lateralis, a synonym of the binomial name for the rufous-sided crake. The authors of a molecular genetic study published in 2019 proposed that the yellow-breasted crake, the dot-winged crake, and the flightless Inaccessible Island rail should be moved to this genus. Additional changes to the content of the genus were made based on the molecular phylogenetic study by Emiliano Depino and collaborators that was published in 2023.

Species

The genus contains 11 species:

• Speckled rail, Laterallus notatus (formerly placed in the genus Coturnicops)
• Dot-winged crake, Laterallus spiloptera
• Inaccessible Island rail, Laterallus rogersi
• Black rail, Laterallus jamaicensis
• Galapagos crake, Laterallus spilonota
• Yellow-breasted crake, Laterallus flaviventer
• Grey-breasted crake, Laterallus exilis
• White-throated crake, Laterallus albigularis
• Ruddy crake, Laterallus ruber
• Rusty-flanked crake, Laterallus levraudi
• Rufous-sided crake, Laterallus melanophaius

The rufous-faced crake (Rufirallus xenopterus), red-and-white crake (Rufirallus leucopyrrhus) and the black-banded crake (Rufirallus fasciatus) were formerly placed in this genus.

Further reading

• Taylor, B., & van Perlo, B. (1998). Rails – A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Template:ISBN

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