''Chenorhamphus'' is a genus of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae.

Taxonomy and systematics

The species of the genus ''Chenorhamphus'' were formerly classified in the genus ''

Malurus ''Malurus'' is a genus of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. Taxonomy and systematics Extant species The following table reports the English names proposed for the twelve species recognised by the listing of the International O ...

'' until a 2011 analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA showed high divergence between the two taxa resulting in them being re-split into separate species. The study also found them to lie in a separate

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 ...

with the genera '' Sipodotus'' and ''

Clytomyias The orange-crowned fairywren (''Clytomyias insignis'') is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Clytomyias''. It is found on New Guinea in its natural habitat of subtropical or ...

'' and distinct from the genus ''Malurus''. This led to the subsequent re-classification of the species into their own genus, ''Chenorhamphus''. The genus contains two species: * Broad-billed fairywren (''Chenorhamphus grayi'') * Campbell's fairywren (''Chenorhamphus campbelli'')

References

Maluridae Bird genera Birds of New Guinea Taxa named by Émile Oustalet {{Maluridae-stub