''Calliope'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

birds in the Old World flycatcher family

Muscicapidae The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica'') and north ...

. The

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

were previously placed in the genus '' Luscinia''. A large

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study published in 2010 found that ''Luscinia'' as defined in 2003 by Edward C. Dickinson was not

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

. The genus ''Calliope'', with the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, 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 spe ...

, ''Calliope calliope'', was reinstated to accommodate a well-defined

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

. Although the blackthroat (''Calliope obscura'') had not been included in the 2010 phylogenetic analysis, a subsequent study found that the firethroat and the blackthroat were

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

and not colour morphs of the same species as some publications had previously suggested. The genus ''Calliope'' was introduced by the English ornithologist

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist who published monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould (illustrator), Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, includ ...

in 1836. ''Calliope'', from classical Greek meaning beautiful-voiced, was one of the

muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

s in

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

and presided over eloquence and heroic poetry. The genus contains the following five species: * Himalayan rubythroat (''Calliope pectoralis'') * Chinese rubythroat (''Calliope tschebaiewi'') - formerly considered as a subspecies of the Himalayan rubythroat *

Siberian rubythroat The Siberian rubythroat (''Calliope calliope'') is a small passerine bird first described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1776. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World ...

(''Calliope calliope'') * Firethroat (''Calliope pectardens'') * Blackthroat (''Calliope obscura'')

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q16069825 Bird genera