Melanocharis

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Wikipedia

Melanocharis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Melanocharitidae
Genus: Melanocharis
P.L. Sclater, 1858
Type species
Dicaeum niger[1]
Lesson, 1830
Synonyms

Rhamphocharis Salvadori, 1876

Melanocharis is a genus of birds in the family Melanocharitidae that are endemic to New Guinea.

Taxonomy

The genus Melanocharis was introduced in 1858 by the English zoologist Philip Sclater to accommodate a single species, Dicaeum niger Lesson, the black berrypecker. This is the type species.[2][3] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek μελας/melas, μελανος/melanos meaning "black" with χαρις/kharis, χαριτος/kharitos meaning "beauty".[4]

A molecular genetic study published in 2021 found that the spotted berrypecker, then placed in the genus Rhamphocharis, was embedded in Melanocharis.[5] Base on this result, the genus Rhamphocharis was subsumed into Melanocharis.[6]

Species

The genus contains the following eight species:[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Melanocharitidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. ↑ Sclater, Philip (1858). "On the zoology of New Guinea". Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society. Zoology. 2: 149-170 [157].
  3. ↑ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1986). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 12. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 167.
  4. ↑ Jobling, James A. "Melanocharis". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  5. ↑ Milá, B.; Bruxaux, J.; Friis, G.; Sam, K.; Ashari, H.; Thébaud, C. (2021). "A new, undescribed species of Melanocharis berrypecker from western New Guinea and the evolutionary history of the family Melanocharitidae". Ibis. 163 (4): 1310–1329. doi:10.1111/ibi.12981.
  6. 1 2 AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". doi:10.2173/avilist.v2025. Retrieved 18 November 2025.