Sternula albifrons

Little tern

Maximum lifespan

23.9 yr

AnAge record

mtDNA size

16,357 bp

RefSeq NC_028176.1

GC content

42.78%

Whole genome

Non-coding

883 bp

D-loop 800 bp

Where Little tern sits among 2,335 species

Whole-genome GC content against maximum lifespan. Little tern has the 702nd longest lifespan of them.

This species
Other birds
Other classes

Plot other mtDNA features with this species highlighted

Base composition

Whole genome16,357 bp

GC skew (G − C) / (G + C): −0.357
AT skew (A − T) / (A + T): +0.087

Life history

Maximum lifespan: 23.9 years
Adult weight: 31 g
Female sexual maturity: 2 years
Male sexual maturity: 2 years
Gestation or incubation: 21 days
Litter or clutch size: 2
Postnatal growth rate: 0.182 per day

Lifespan from AnAge · AnAge record · other traits from AnAge build 15 (HAGRID 00496)

About this record

Lifespan source: AnAge build 15
Based on: an animal in the wild
Data quality: acceptable, medium sample
Licence: Free to use, subject to the Human Ageing Genomic Resources conditions of use
Status: New in build 2
In the database since: build 2 (2026-11-13)

Every change against the 2015 build is in the changelog download.

Composition by region

Reference (L) strand as deposited in RefSeq

Whole genome16,357 bp

Protein-coding11,376 bp

12S rRNA967 bp

16S rRNA1,592 bp

All tRNA1,550 bp

D-loop800 bp

Genes and regions

Select a column to sort; select a gene to compare it across species

Base composition of Sternula albifrons genes

ND1NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1	978 bp	28.3%	30.4%	12.7%	28.6%	41.31%	−0.386	−0.035
ND2NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2	1,039 bp	32.3%	27.3%	9.8%	30.5%	40.33%	−0.513	+0.084
COX1Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I	1,551 bp	27.8%	28.0%	15.9%	28.2%	44.17%	−0.279	−0.005
COX2Cytochrome c oxidase subunit II	684 bp	30.1%	26.2%	14.0%	29.7%	43.71%	−0.358	+0.070
ATP8ATP synthase F0 subunit 8	168 bp	35.7%	26.2%	4.8%	33.3%	38.10%	−0.750	+0.154
ATP6ATP synthase F0 subunit 6	684 bp	29.8%	26.5%	9.5%	34.2%	43.71%	−0.565	+0.060
COX3Cytochrome c oxidase subunit III	784 bp	29.1%	25.3%	15.3%	30.4%	45.66%	−0.330	+0.070
ND3NADH dehydrogenase subunit 3	351 bp	29.1%	30.2%	11.7%	29.1%	40.74%	−0.427	−0.019
ND4LNADH dehydrogenase subunit 4L	297 bp	29.3%	28.3%	13.1%	29.3%	42.42%	−0.381	+0.018
ND4NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4	1,378 bp	30.9%	27.5%	10.4%	31.2%	41.58%	−0.501	+0.058
ND5NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5	1,815 bp	31.9%	25.7%	10.9%	31.5%	42.37%	−0.485	+0.107
ND6NADH dehydrogenase subunit 6	522 bp	42.3%	12.3%	9.4%	36.0%	45.40%	−0.587	+0.551
CYTBCytochrome b	1,143 bp	29.0%	27.2%	12.7%	31.1%	43.83%	−0.421	+0.031
12S rRNA12S ribosomal RNA	967 bp	31.0%	22.5%	20.9%	25.5%	46.43%	−0.100	+0.158
16S rRNA16S ribosomal RNA	1,592 bp	34.0%	22.9%	18.0%	25.1%	43.09%	−0.163	+0.194
D-loopControl region (D-loop)	800 bp	29.3%	28.9%	16.1%	25.8%	41.88%	−0.230	+0.006

Codon usage

Counts per codon, darker is more frequent

Gene

3,797 codons in all protein-coding genes. Grouped with the Vertebrate mitochondrial code (NCBI table 2).

Phe F5.9%

UUU67

UUC158

Leu L17.5%

UUA137

UUG19

CUU89

CUC123

CUA272

CUG25

Ile I7.5%

AUU100

AUC185

Met M4.8%

AUA154

AUG28

Val V4.8%

GUU37

GUC43

GUA78

GUG23

Ser S7.6%

UCU54

UCC77

UCA102

UCG4

AGU6

AGC46

Pro P5.8%

CCU54

CCC54

CCA108

CCG3

Thr T8.9%

ACU70

ACC136

ACA128

ACG5

Ala A7.5%

GCU82

GCC90

GCA103

GCG8

Tyr Y2.9%

UAU35

UAC75

His H2.9%

CAU45

CAC64

Gln Q2.6%

CAA85

CAG12

Asn N3.5%

AAU33

AAC98

Lys K2.2%

AAA82

AAG3

Asp D1.6%

GAU27

GAC35

Glu E2.5%

GAA76

GAG19

Cys C0.8%

UGU11

UGC19

Trp W2.8%

UGA98

UGG9

Arg R1.9%

CGU11

CGC17

CGA40

CGG3

Gly G5.8%

GGU52

GGC58

GGA88

GGG24

Stop 0.3%

UAA6

UAG1

AGA1

AGG2

Genome map

38 annotated features in NC_028176.1

Hover, tap or tab to a feature to see its position, length, strand and GC content. Genes and rRNAs open their own pages.

Protein-coding13
rRNA2
tRNA22
D-loop1

Outer ring: + strand, arrows run clockwise. Inner ring: − strand.
Middle ring: GC% of each gene against the whole genome (42.8%, dashed): out is GC-richer, in is AT-richer (full height = 6 points).

All 38 features as a table

Annotated features of Sternula albifrons (NC_028176.1)
Feature	Type	Start	End	Length	Strand	GC
COX1	Protein-coding gene	1	1,551	1,551 bp	+	44.2%
tRNA-Ser (UCN)	Transfer RNA	1,543	1,616	74 bp	−	–
tRNA-Asp	Transfer RNA	1,619	1,687	69 bp	+	–
COX2	Protein-coding gene	1,689	2,372	684 bp	+	43.7%
tRNA-Lys	Transfer RNA	2,374	2,443	70 bp	+	–
ATP8	Protein-coding gene	2,445	2,612	168 bp	+	38.1%
ATP6	Protein-coding gene	2,603	3,286	684 bp	+	43.7%
COX3	Protein-coding gene	3,286	4,069	784 bp	+	45.7%
tRNA-Gly	Transfer RNA	4,070	4,139	70 bp	+	–
ND3	Protein-coding gene	4,140	4,491	352 bp	+	40.7%
tRNA-Arg	Transfer RNA	4,496	4,564	69 bp	+	–
ND4L	Protein-coding gene	4,566	4,862	297 bp	+	42.4%
ND4	Protein-coding gene	4,856	6,233	1,378 bp	+	41.6%
tRNA-His	Transfer RNA	6,234	6,303	70 bp	+	–
tRNA-Ser (AGY)	Transfer RNA	6,304	6,368	65 bp	+	–
tRNA-Leu (CUN)	Transfer RNA	6,369	6,439	71 bp	+	–
ND5	Protein-coding gene	6,440	8,254	1,815 bp	+	42.4%
CYTB	Protein-coding gene	8,269	9,411	1,143 bp	+	43.8%
tRNA-Thr	Transfer RNA	9,415	9,484	70 bp	+	–
tRNA-Pro	Transfer RNA	9,494	9,564	71 bp	−	–
ND6	Protein-coding gene	9,585	10,106	522 bp	−	45.4%
tRNA-Glu	Transfer RNA	10,110	10,181	72 bp	−	–
D-loop	Control region	10,182	10,981	800 bp	–	41.9%
tRNA-Phe	Transfer RNA	10,982	11,052	71 bp	+	–
12S rRNA	Ribosomal RNA	11,053	12,019	967 bp	+	46.4%
tRNA-Val	Transfer RNA	12,020	12,091	72 bp	+	–
16S rRNA	Ribosomal RNA	12,092	13,683	1,592 bp	+	43.1%
tRNA-Leu (UUR)	Transfer RNA	13,684	13,757	74 bp	+	–
ND1	Protein-coding gene	13,766	14,743	978 bp	+	41.3%
tRNA-Ile	Transfer RNA	14,742	14,813	72 bp	+	–
tRNA-Gln	Transfer RNA	14,823	14,893	71 bp	+	–
tRNA-Met	Transfer RNA	14,893	14,961	69 bp	+	–
ND2	Protein-coding gene	14,962	16,000	1,039 bp	+	40.3%
tRNA-Trp	Transfer RNA	16,001	16,071	71 bp	+	–
tRNA-Ala	Transfer RNA	16,073	16,141	69 bp	−	–
tRNA-Asn	Transfer RNA	16,144	16,216	73 bp	−	–
tRNA-Cys	Transfer RNA	16,219	16,285	67 bp	−	–
tRNA-Tyr	Transfer RNA	16,285	16,356	72 bp	−	–