''Syma'' 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 ...

tree kingfisher The tree kingfishers, also called wood kingfishers or Halcyoninae, are the most numerous of the three subfamilies of birds in the kingfisher family, with around 70 species divided into 12 genera, including several species of kookaburras. The su ...

s in the family Alcedinidae that are resident in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

and northeast Australia. The genus was introduced by the French surgeon and naturalist René Lesson in 1827. ''Syma'' was the name of a sea nymph in

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

. The genus contains two species: The adults of both species have bright yellow bills. The mountain kingfisher is endemic to the mountainous regions of New Guinea. The yellow-billed kingfisher occurs in lowland areas of New Guinea and on the

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

in north eastern Australia.

References

Bird genera Taxa named by René Lesson Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Coraciiformes-stub