''Ixos'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...
birds in the
bulbul family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
,
Pycnonotidae
The bulbuls are members of a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds, which also includes greenbuls, brownbuls, leafloves, and bristlebills. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical ...
.
Taxonomy and systematics
The genus ''Ixos'' was introduced in 1825 by the Dutch zoologist
Coenraad Jacob Temminck to accommodate the
Javan bulbul. The genus name is the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
for "mistletoe".
Some authorities have advocated a complete merger of the genus ''Ixos'' with ''Hypsipetes'' – and even the entire "''Hypsipetes'' group" of bulbuls, which also includes ''
Hemixos'', ''
Iole
In Greek mythology, Iole (; grc, Ἰόλη ) was the daughter of King Eurytus of Oechalia. According to the brief epitome in the '' Bibliotheca'', Eurytus had a beautiful young daughter named Iole who was eligible for marriage. Iole was claimed ...
'' and ''
Tricholestes''. Being the oldest
genus name
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
, ''Ixos'' would apply to all of them, rather than ''Hypsipetes'' as is often believed.
[Gregory (2000), Pasquet ''et al.'' (2001), Moyle & Marks (2006)] This re-classification seems hardly appropriate however, since ''
Alophoixus'' and ''
Setornis'' cannot be excluded from the "''Hypsipetes'' group", and an all-out merge would turn the resultant "genus" ''Ixos'' into an ill-defined "
wastebin taxon". The erroneous inclusion of ''I. virescens'' in ''Hypsipetes'' has caused the
Nicobar bulbul
The Nicobar bulbul (''Ixos nicobariensis'') is a songbird species in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is endemic to the Nicobar Islands.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Nicobar bulbul was originally described in the genus '' Hypsipetes'' and m ...
to be listed under its invalid
junior synonym ''H. nicobariensis'' rather than the valid names ''H. virescens'' or ''I. nicobariensis''.
Extant species
There are five extant species in the genus ''Ixos'':
*
Nicobar bulbul
The Nicobar bulbul (''Ixos nicobariensis'') is a songbird species in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is endemic to the Nicobar Islands.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Nicobar bulbul was originally described in the genus '' Hypsipetes'' and m ...
(''Ixos nicobariensis'')
*
Mountain bulbul (''Ixos mcclellandii'')
*
Streaked bulbul (''Ixos malaccensis'')
*
Javan bulbul (''Ixos virescens'')
(the
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...
)
*
Sumatran bulbul (''Ixos sumatranus'')
(split from ''I. virescens'')
Former species
Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus ''Ixos'':
*
Cream-striped bulbul (as ''Ixos leucogrammicus'')
*
Spot-necked bulbul
The spot-necked bulbul (''Alcurus tympanistrigus'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in Sumatra. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist mo ...
(as ''Ixos tympanistrigus'')
*
Grey-headed bulbul
The grey-headed bulbul (''Brachypodius priocephalus'') is a member of the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats in south-western India, and found from Goa south to Tamil Nadu at altitudes up to 1200m. It is found in ...
(as ''Ixos Fisquetti'')
*
Scaly-breasted bulbul (as ''Ixos squamatus'')
*
Red-whiskered bulbul (pyrrhotis) (as ''Ixos pyrrhotis'')
*
Red-whiskered bulbul (emeria) (as ''Ixos emeria'')
*
Chinese red-whiskered bulbul (as ''Ixos monticola'')
*
Brown-breasted bulbul (andersoni) (as ''Ixus Andersoni'')
*
Light-vented bulbul (hainanus) (as ''Ixus hainanus'')
*
White-eared bulbul
The white-eared bulbul (''Pycnonotus leucotis'') is a member of the bulbul family. It is found in south-western Asia from India to the Arabian peninsula.
Taxonomy and systematics
The white-eared bulbul was originally described in the genus ''Ix ...
(as ''Ixos leucotis'')
*
Sooty-headed bulbul (germani) (as ''Ixus Germani'')
*
White-spectacled bulbul
The white-spectacled bulbul (''Pycnonotus xanthopygos'') is a member of the bulbul family. It is in length with a wingspan of . These birds live in fruit plantations, gardens, and cities. It is the most common member of the bulbul family in Isr ...
(as ''Ixus xanthopygos'')
*
Upper Guinea bulbul (as ''Ixos inornatus'')
*
Dark-capped bulbul (as ''Ixos tricolor'')
*
Pale-eyed bulbul (as ''Ixus Davisoni'')
*
Yellow-throated bulbul
The yellow-throated bulbul (''Pycnonotus xantholaemus'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family of passerine birds. The species is endemic to southern peninsular India. They are found on scrub habitats on steep, rocky hills many of which ...
(as ''Ixos xantholaemus'')
*
Yellow-vented bulbul (gourdini) (as ''Ixos gourdini'')
*
Spectacled bulbul (as ''Ixos erythropthalmos'')
*
Yellow-throated leaflove (as ''Ixus flavicollis'')
*
Yellow-bellied bulbul
The yellow-bellied bulbul (''Alophoixus phaeocephalus'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae.
It is found on the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo.
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
T ...
(as ''Ixos phaeocephalus'')
*
Sulphur-bellied bulbul (as ''Ixos palawanensis'')
*
Seram golden bulbul (as ''Ixos affinis'')
*
Philippine bulbul
The Philippine bulbul (''Hypsipetes philippinus'') is a songbird species in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae.
It is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical mo ...
(as ''Ixos philippinus'')
*
Mindoro bulbul (as ''Ixos mindorensis'')
*
Visayan bulbul
The Visayan bulbul (''Hypsipetes guimarasensis'') or Steere's bulbul, is a songbird species in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae.
It is endemic to the western Visayas in the Philippines. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowla ...
(as ''Ixos guimarasensis'')
*
Zamboanga bulbul
The Zamboanga bulbul (''Hypsipetes rufigularis'') is a songbird species in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is endemic to the Philippines, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests of Basilan and the Zamboanga ...
(as ''Ixos rufigularis'')
*
Streak-breasted bulbul (as ''Ixos siquijorensis'')
*
Yellowish bulbul
The yellowish bulbul (''Hypsipetes everetti'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae.
Taxonomy and systematics
The yellowish bulbul was originally described in the genus ''Criniger ''and later placed in the genus ''Ixos'' ...
(as ''Ixos everetti'')
*
Brown-eared bulbul (as ''Ixos amaurotis'')
Footnotes
References
* Gregory, Steven M. (2000): Nomenclature of the Hypsipetes Bulbuls (Pycnonotidae). ''
Forktail
The forktails are small insectivorous birds in the genus ''Enicurus''. They were formerly in the thrush family, Turdidae, but are more often now treated as part of the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. Their name derives from their lo ...
'' 16: 164–166
PDF fulltext* Moyle, Robert G. & Marks, Ben D. (2006): Phylogenetic relationships of the bulbuls (Aves: Pycnonotidae) based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data. ''
Mol. Phylogenet. Evol.'' 40(3): 687–695.
(HTML abstract)
* Pasquet, Éric; Han, Lian-Xian; Khobkhet, Obhas & Cibois, Alice (2001): Towards a molecular systematics of the genus ''Criniger'', and a preliminary phylogeny of the bulbuls (Aves, Passeriformes, Pycnonotidae). ''Zoosystema'' 23(4): 857–863
PDF fulltext
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1061823
Bulbuls
Bird genera
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
