''Melionyx'' 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 ...

in the family

Meliphagidae The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are m ...

. These species were formerly placed in the genus ''

Melidectes ''Melidectes'' is a genus of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. All six species are endemic to New Guinea. The generic name is derived from the Greek ''meli'' for honey and ''dektes'' for beggar or receiver. Description They are medium- ...

''. They were moved to the resurrected genus ''Melionyx '' based on the results of 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 ...

study published in 2019. At the same time, the common names were changed from "melidectes" to "honeyeater". The genus contains three species: * Sooty honeyeater (''Melionyx fuscus'') * Short-bearded honeyeater (''Melionyx nouhuysi'') * Long-bearded honeyeater (''Melionyx princeps'')

References

Bird genera Taxa named by Tom Iredale {{Meliphagidae-stub