Carp's tit (''Melaniparus carpi'') or Carp's black tit, is a

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), ...

of bird in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Paridae The tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute the Paridae, a family of small passerine birds which occur mainly in the Northern Hemisphere and Africa. Many were formerly classified in the genus ''Parus''. Eurasian and African members of this f ...

. Some authors consider it a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the black tit. It is found throughout the

Namibian savanna woodlands The Namibian savanna woodlands, also known as the Namib escarpment woodlands, are the deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion of Namibia and Angola. Geography They extend north and south from southwestern Angola to central Namibia, east of the co ...

and the southern

Angolan mopane woodlands Angolan mopane woodlands are situated in southwestern Angola, extending into northern Namibia. This ecosystem surrounds Etosha Pan, which is considered a separate ecoregion. The mopane trees are the main type of vegetation. Location and descript ...

. Its name commemorates olympic sailor and ornithologist

Berend Carp Bernard "Berend" Carp (17 April 1901, Sragi, Lampung, Dutch East Indies – 22 July 1966, Hout Bay, South Africa) was an Olympic sailor from the Netherlands, who represented his native country at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Ostend, Belgium. Wit ...

(1901-1966). Carp's tit was formerly one of the many species in the

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 ...

Parus ''Parus'' is a genus of Old World birds in the tit family Paridae. It was formerly a large genus containing most of the 50 odd species in the family Paridae. The genus was split into several resurrected genera following the publication of a deta ...

'' but was moved to ''

Melaniparus ''Melaniparus'' is a genus of birds in the tit (bird), tit family. The species were formerly placed in the speciose genus ''Parus'' but were moved to ''Melaniparus'' based on a molecular phylogenetic analysis published in 2013 that showed that the ...

'' after a

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 ...

analysis published in 2013 showed that the members of the new genus formed a distinct

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 ...

References

External links

* (Carp's tit = ) Carp's black tit
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
Melaniparus Birds of Southern Africa Birds described in 1957 {{Paridae-stub