Meliphaga
| Meliphaga | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lewin's honeyeater (Meliphaga lewinii) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Meliphagidae |
| Genus: | Meliphaga Lewin, 1808 |
| Type species | |
| Meliphaga chrysotis[1] Lewin, 1808 | |
Meliphaga is a genus of birds in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae.
The genus was introduced by the English artist John Lewin in 1808.[2] The name Meliphaga combines the Ancient Greek meli meaning "honey" and phagos meaning eating.[3] The type species is Lewin's honeyeater (Meliphaga lewinii).[4][5]
In 2019 molecular phylogenetic studies found that Meliphaga was paraphyletic with the monotypic genus Oreornis, containing the orange-cheeked honeyeater, embedded within it. To created monophyletic genera, the genus was split up and species moved into the resurrected genera Territornis and Microptilotis, leaving just three species in Meliphaga.[6][7] In 2025 the AviList team instead adopted a broader Meliphaga that contained 17 species and included the orange-cheeked honeyeater.[8]
The genus contains 17 species:[8]
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Meliphaga aruensis | Puff-backed honeyeater | New Guinea including western Papuan islands, Aru and Trobriand islands, and D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago |
 | Meliphaga notata | Yellow-spotted honeyeater | northeast Australia |
 | Meliphaga lewinii | Lewin's honeyeater | east Australia |
 | Meliphaga reticulata | Streak-breasted honeyeater | eastern Lesser Sunda Islands (Timor and Semau) |
_(cropped).jpg) | Meliphaga fordiana | Kimberley honeyeater | northwestern Australia (northwestern Kimberley region, northern Western Australia) |
 | Meliphaga albilineata | White-lined honeyeater | north-central Australia (Arnhem Land sandstone, northern Northern Territory) |
 | Meliphaga chrysogenys | Orange-cheeked honeyeater | west-central New Guinea (timberline zone of Snow Mountains) |
 | Meliphaga montana | Forest honeyeater | north to southeast New Guinea |
| Meliphaga mimikae | Mottle-breasted honeyeater | montane west-central to southeastern New Guinea | |
 | Meliphaga flavirictus | Yellow-gaped honeyeater | northeast Western Australia to northeast Queensland (north Australia) |
 | Meliphaga orientalis | Mountain honeyeater | montane New Guinea |
.jpg) | Meliphaga albonotata | Scrub honeyeater | foothills of southern New Guinea |
 | Meliphaga analoga | Mimic honeyeater | New Guinea including western Papuan islands and Aru Islands |
| Meliphaga vicina | Tagula honeyeater | lowlands and hills of Tagula Island (Louisiade Archipelago, off southeastern New Guinea) | |
.jpg) | Meliphaga gracilis | Graceful honeyeater | southern New Guinea including Aru Islands, and northeastern Australia (western Torres Strait islands and eastern Cape York Peninsula, northern Queensland) |
 | Meliphaga imitatrix | Cryptic honeyeater | northeastern Australia (southeastern Cape York Peninsula to Wet Tropics region, northern Queensland) |
 | Meliphaga cinereifrons | Elegant honeyeater | southeastern New Guinea |
References
[edit]- ↑ "Melaphagidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
- ↑ Lewin, John William. Birds of New Holland, with their natural history. Vol. 1 (of one). London: Printed for the author and published by J. White and S. Bagster. p. 7.
- ↑ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 249. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ↑ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1986). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 12. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 364.
- ↑ Gray, George Robert (1840). A List of the Genera of Birds : with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus (1st ed.). London: R. and J.E. Taylor. p. 15.
- ↑ Andersen, M.J.; McCullough, J.M.; Friedman, N.R.; Peterson, A.T.; Moyle, R.G.; Joseph, L.; Nyári, A.S. (2019). "Ultraconserved elements resolve genus-level relationships in a major Australasian bird radiation (Aves: Meliphagidae)". Emu. 119 (3): 218–232. Bibcode:2019EmuAO.119..218A. doi:10.1080/01584197.2019.1595662. S2CID 150056949.
- ↑ McCullough, J.M.; Joseph, L.; Moyle, R.G.; Andersen, M.J. (2019). "Ultraconserved elements put the final nail in the coffin of traditional use of the genus Meliphaga (Aves: Meliphagidae)". Zoologica Scripta. 48 (4): 411–418. doi:10.1111/zsc.12350.
- 1 2 AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". doi:10.2173/avilist.v2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
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