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Genus of birds From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Melaenornis is a genus of small passerine birds in the large family Muscicapidae commonly known as the Old World flycatchers. They are restricted to sub-Saharan Africa.
Melaenornis | |
---|---|
Southern black flycatcher (Melaenornis pammelaina) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Muscicapidae |
Tribe: | Muscicapini |
Genus: | Melaenornis G.R. Gray, 1840 |
Type species | |
Melasoma edolioides[1] Swainson, 1937 | |
Species | |
see text |
The genus Melaenornis was introduced in 1840 by the English zoologist George Gray. It was a replacement name for Melasoma that had been introduced in 1837 by William Swainson with the northern black flycatcher as the type species.[2] Melasoma was pre-occupied by "Melasoma Dillwyn" that had been introduced in 1831 by James Stephens for a genus of insects.[3][4] The name Melaenornis combines the Ancient Greek melas, melaina meaning "black" with ornis meaning "bird".[5]
The genus contains the following seven species:[6]
This genus formerly included fewer species. The results of a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 led to a reorganization of the Old World flycatchers family in which the four species in Bradornis and the single species in Sigelus were merged into Melaenornis.[6][7] The genus formerly included the pale flycatcher and the chat flycatcher. Based on a phylogenetic study published in 2023, they were moved to the resurrected genus Agricola.[8][6]
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