Lichenostomus

Lichenostomus
Yellow-tufted honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Meliphagidae
Genus: Lichenostomus
Cabanis, 1851
Type species
Lichenostomus occidentalis[1]
Cabanis, 1851

Lichenostomus is a genus of honeyeaters endemic to Australia.

The genus formerly contained twenty species but it was split after a molecular phylogenetic analysis published in 2011 showed that the genus was polyphyletic.[2] Former members were moved to the six new genera: Nesoptilotis, Bolemoreus, Caligavis, Stomiopera, Gavicalis and Ptilotula.[2]

The genus contains two species:[3]

Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
Lichenostomus melanops Yellow-tufted honeyeater east and southeast Australia
Lichenostomus cratitius Purple-gaped honeyeater southwest and south-central Australia

The name Lichenostomus was introduced by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis in 1851.[4] The word is derived from the Greek leikhēn meaning lichen or callous and stoma meaning mouth.[5]

  1. ^ "Melaphagidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. ^ a b Nyári, Á.S.; Joseph, L. (2011). "Systematic dismantlement of Lichenostomus improves the basis for understanding relationships within the honeyeaters (Meliphagidae) and historical development of Australo–Papuan bird communities". Emu. 111 (3): 202–211. Bibcode:2011EmuAO.111..202N. doi:10.1071/mu10047. S2CID 85333285.
  3. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David (eds.). "Honeyeaters". World Bird List Version 6.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  4. ^ Cabanis, Jean Louis (1851). Museum Heineannum (Volume 1) (in German). Halberstadt. p. 119.
  5. ^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 226. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.