''Saucerottia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of birds in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Trochilidae Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics ar ...

, or hummingbirds.

Species

The species now placed in this genus were formerly placed in ''

Amazilia ''Amazilia'' is a hummingbird genus in the subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in tropical Central and South America. Taxonomy The genus ''Amazilia'' was introduced in 1843 by the French naturalist René Lesson. Lesson had used ''amazilia'' ...

''. 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 2014 found that the genus ''Amazilia'' was

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...

. In the revised classification to create

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic ...

genera, these species were placed in the resurrected genus ''Saucerottia''. The genus had been introduced in 1850 by the French naturalist

Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857), was a French naturalist and ornithologist. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte. Life and career ...

with the

steely-vented hummingbird The steely-vented hummingbird (''Saucerottia saucerottei'') is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela. Taxonomy and systematics The steely-vented hummingbi ...

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 is from the specific epithet ''saucerrottei'' for the steely-vented hummingbird. The epithet was coined in 1846 by

Adolphe Delattre (Pierre) Adolphe Delattre (or De Lattre) (12 February 1805, Tours – 3 January 1854, Nice) was a French ornithologist. Between 1831 and 1851 he made several expeditions to America, where he was particularly interested in collecting hummingbirds. ...

and

Jules Bourcier Claude Marie Jules Bourcier (19 February 1797 – 9 March 1873) was a French naturalist and expert on hummingbirds.Prosopo ...

to honour the French physician and ornithologist

Antoine Constant Saucerotte Antoine Constant Saucerotte (13 August 1805 in Moscow - 3 November 1884 in Lunéville) was a French physician known in the 19th century for his popularisation work. Early life and education Constant Saucerotte was the son of Vïctor Joseph Sauc ...

. The genus contains eleven species: *

Azure-crowned hummingbird The azure-crowned hummingbird (''Saucerottia cyanocephala'') is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Taxonomy a ...

, ''Saucerottia cyanocephala'' *

Blue-vented hummingbird The blue-vented hummingbird (''Saucerottia hoffmanni'') is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Taxonomy and systematics The blue-vented hummingbird w ...

, ''Saucerottia hoffmanni'' *

Berylline hummingbird The berylline hummingbird (''Saucerottia beryllina'') is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the United States. Taxonomy and system ...

, ''Saucerottia beryllina'' *

Blue-tailed hummingbird The blue-tailed hummingbird (''Saucerottia cyanura'') is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Taxonomy and ...

, ''Saucerottia cyanura'' *

Snowy-bellied hummingbird The snowy-bellied hummingbird or snowy-breasted hummingbird (''Saucerottia edward''), is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in mostly in Costa Rica and Panama with a few records ...

, ''Saucerottia edward'' *

Steely-vented hummingbird The steely-vented hummingbird (''Saucerottia saucerottei'') is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela. Taxonomy and systematics The steely-vented hummingbi ...

, ''Saucerottia saucerrottei'' *

Indigo-capped hummingbird The indigo-capped hummingbird (''Saucerottia cyanifrons'') is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Colombia. Taxonomy and systematics The indigo-capped hummingbird was formerl ...

, ''Saucerottia cyanifrons'' *

Chestnut-bellied hummingbird The chestnut-bellied hummingbird (''Saucerottia castaneiventris'') is a Near Threatened species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Colombia. Taxonomy and systematics The chestnut-bel ...

, ''Saucerottia castaneiventris'' *

Green-bellied hummingbird The green-bellied hummingbird (''Saucerottia viridigaster'') is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the ...

, ''Saucerottia viridigaster'' *

Copper-rumped hummingbird The copper-rumped hummingbird (''Saucerottia tobaci'') is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in Tobago, Trinidad, Venezuela, and possibly Grenada. Taxonomy and systematics The c ...

, ''Saucerottia tobaci'' *

Copper-tailed hummingbird The copper-tailed hummingbird (''Saucerottia cupreicauda'') is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae.HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife Internati ...

, ''Saucerottia cupreicauda''

References

Bird genera Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte {{Bird-stub