Mellisugini

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Mellisugini
Bee hummingbird (Melisuga helenae)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Clade: Strisores
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Subfamily: Trochilinae
Tribe: Mellisugini
Reichenbach, 1854
Genera

16, see text

Mellisugini is one of the three

Trochilidae. The other two tribes in the subfamily are Lampornithini (mountain gems) and Trochilini
(emeralds).

The informal name "bees" has been proposed for this group as it includes the tiny bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) that is endemic to Cuba.[1]

The tribe contains 37 species divided into 16 genera.[2][3]

Phylogeny

A

James Van Remsen, Jr. updated the Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World for the 4th edition in 2013 they based their classification on these results and placed three of the nine clades in the subfamily Trochilinae. The clades were placed in separate tribes which they named Mellisugini (bees), Lampornithini (mountain gems) and Trochilini (emeralds).[5] The tribe Mellisugini with the current circumscription was introduced in 2009.[6] A subfamily Mellisuginae had been introduced by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1854.[7]

Molecular phylogenetic studies by Jimmy McGuire and collaborators published between 2007 and 2014 determined the relationships between the major groups of hummingbirds.[2][4][6] In the cladogram below the English names are those introduced in 1997.[8] The Latin names are those proposed by Dickinson and Remsen in 2013.[9]

Trochilidae

Florisuginae – topazes

Phaethornithinae
– hermits

Polytminae – mangoes

Lesbiinae

Heliantheini – brilliants

Lesbiini – coquettes

Patagoninae – giant hummingbird

Trochilinae

Lampornithini – mountain gems

Mellisugini – bees

Trochilini – emeralds

The cladogram below shows the relationships between the genera and is based on a

molecular phylogenetic study by Yuyini Licona-Vera and Juan Francisco Ornelas published in 2017.[10] The results are in agreement with the phylogeny by Jimmy McGuire and collaborators published in 2014.[2]

Mellisugini
woodstars

Tilmatura
– sparkling-tailed woodstar

Calliphlox
– amethyst woodstar

Thaumastura
– Peruvian sheartail

Myrmia
– short-tailed woodstar

Myrtis
– purple-collared woodstar

Rhodopis
– oasis hummingbird

Eulidia
– Chilean woodstar

Microstilbon
– slender-tailed woodstar

Chaetocercus – woodstars (6 species)

Philodice – woodstars (2 species)

sheartails

Calothorax – sheartails (2 species)

Doricha – sheartails (2 species)

Archilochus – hummingbirds (2 species)

Nesophlox – woodstars (2 species)

Mellisuga – hummingbirds (2 species)

Calypte – hummingbirds (2 species)

Selasphorus – hummingbirds (9 species)

The genus Calliphlox was found to be

monophyletic genera, the Bahama woodstar and the Inagua woodstar were moved to the resurrected genus Nesophlox.[3] Later, the genus Philodice was resurrected to accommodate the purple-throated woodstar and the amethyst woodstar.[11][12]

The genus Atthis containing the wine-throated hummingbird and the bumblebee hummingbird was embedded within Selasphorus.[2][10] The genera were therefore merged and as under the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature Selasphorus has priory over Atthis the two species were moved to Selasphorus.[3]

Distinguishing features

The males of most species in the tribe Mellisugini have specialized tail feathers that produce sounds during their courtship display. This is not restricted to this tribe as males in the genus Discosura belonging to the tribe Lesbiini (coquettes) can also produce sounds from their tail feathers.[13][14]

Most of the migratory hummingbirds are found in this tribe. Remarkable examples are the rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) that breeds as far north as western Canada and Alaska and overwinters in Mexico and the ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) that breeds in the eastern United States and then crosses the Gulf of Mexico to winter in Mexico and Central America. There are five other long-distance migrants in the tribe: the broad-tailed hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus), the calliope hummingbird (Selasphorus calliope), Allen's hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin), the black-chinned hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) and the lucifer sheartail (Calothorax lucifer). It is likely that migratory behaviour has evolved several times.[10]

Taxonomic list

The tribe contains 17 genera.[3]

Image Genus Living species
Calliphlox
Myrtis
Rhodopis
Myrmia
Thaumastura
Philodice
Eulidia
Microstilbon
Chaetocercus
Tilmatura
Doricha
Calothorax
Archilochus
Mellisuga
Nesophlox
Calypte
Selasphorus

References

  1. PMID 9066799
    .
  2. ^
    PMID 24704078
    .
  3. ^
    Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2020). "Hummingbirds"
    . IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  4. ^
    PMID 17934998
    .
  5. ^ Dickinson & Remsen 2013, p. 133.
  6. ^
    doi:10.1007/s10336-008-0330-x
    .
  7. ^ Reichenbach, Ludwig (1854). "Aufzählung der Colibris Oder Trochilideen in ihrer wahren natürlichen Verwandtschaft, nebst Schlüssel ihrer Synonymik". Journal für Ornithologie (Supplement) (in German). 1: 1–24 [6].
  8. PMID 9066799
    .
  9. ^ Dickinson & Remsen 2013, pp. 105–136.
  10. ^
    PMID 28583078
    .
  11. ^ Donsker, David B.; Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Mason, Nicholas A. (September 2020). "Proposal 886: Resurrect Philodice as a separate genus from Calliphlox". South American Classification Committee, American Ornithological Society. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  12. ^ Donsker, David B.; Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Mason, Nicholas A. (8 September 2020). Proposal 2021-A-12: Resurrect Philodice as a separate genus from Calliphlox (PDF) (Report). North American Classification Committee, American Ornithological Society. pp. 63–66.
  13. S2CID 12248122
    .
  14. PMID 29380351
    .

Sources

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