''Microptilotis'' is a genus of birds in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. The genus was introduced in 1912 by the Australian ornithologist

Gregory Mathews Gregory Macalister Mathews CBE FRSE FZS FLS (10 September 1876 – 27 March 1949) was an Australian-born amateur ornithologist who spent most of his later life in England. Life He was born in Biamble in New South Wales the son of Robert H. ...

with the graceful honeyeater (''Microptilotis gracilis'') as 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 specimen( ...

. The genus name ''Microptilotis'' combines 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 ...

''mikros'' meaning "small" and the genus name ''Ptilotis''. The genus contains 10 species: *

Mottle-breasted honeyeater The mottle-breasted honeyeater (''Microptilotis mimikae''), also known as the spot-breasted meliphaga, is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found throughout New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowl ...

(''Microptilotis mimikae'') *

Forest honeyeater The forest honeyeater (''Microptilotis montanus'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found throughout New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montan ...

(''Microptilotis montana'') *

Mountain honeyeater The mountain honeyeater (''Microptilotis orientalis''), hill-forest honeyeater or mountain meliphaga, is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found throughout New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowl ...

(''Microptilotis orientalis'') *

Scrub honeyeater The scrub honeyeater (''Microptilotis albonotatus'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found across New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane ...

(''Microptilotis albonotata'') *

Mimic honeyeater The mimic honeyeater (''Microptilotis analogus'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is widely spread throughout New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove ...

(''Microptilotis analoga'') * Tagula honeyeater (''Microptilotis vicina'') * Graceful honeyeater (''Microptilotis gracilis'') *

Cryptic honeyeater The cryptic honeyeater (''Microptilotis imitatrix''), also known as the imitatress honeyeater, is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found in northeastern Queensland in Australia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical ...

(''Microptilotis imitatrix'') *

Elegant honeyeater The elegant honeyeater (''Microptilotis cinereifrons'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is native to the Bird's Tail Peninsula (Papua New Guinea). Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subt ...

(''Microptilotis cinereifrons'') *

Yellow-gaped honeyeater The yellow-gaped honeyeater (''Microptilotis flavirictus'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found throughout New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mo ...

(''Microptilotis flavirictus'') The species now placed in ''Microptilotis'' were formerly placed in the genus ''

Meliphaga ''Meliphaga'' is a genus of birds in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. The genus was introduced by the English artist John Lewin in 1808. The name ''Meliphaga'' combines the Ancient Greek meaning "honey" and meaning eating. The type species ...

''. When

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 ...

studies found that ''Meliphaga'' contained two distinct clades, the genus was split and many of the species transferred to the resurrected genus ''Microptilotis''.

References

Bird genera Taxa named by Gregory Mathews {{Meliphagidae-stub