''Merops'' (genus)
Merops | |
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Six common African merops bee-eaters | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Coraciiformes |
Family: | Meropidae |
Genus: | Merops Linnaeus, 1758 |
Species | |
see text |
Merops is a large genus of bee-eaters, a group of near passerine birds in the family Meropidae. The members of this Old World family are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. They predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air.
All bee-eaters are in the genus Merops and subfamily Meropinae except for three Asiatic bearded bee-eaters in the subfamily Nyctyornithinae (in genera Nyctyornis and Meropogon). The genus Merops was introduced by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.[1] The type species is the European bee-eater.[2] The genus name is Ancient Greek for "bee-eater".[3]
Taxonomy and systematics
Twenty-four species are recognized:[4]
- Black-headed bee-eater (Merops breweri)
- Blue-headed bee-eater (Merops muelleri)
- Blue-moustached bee-eater (Merops mentalis)
- Black bee-eater (Merops gularis)
- Swallow-tailed bee-eater (Merops hirundinaeus)
- Little bee-eater (Merops pusillus)
- Blue-breasted bee-eater (Merops variegatus)
- Cinnamon-chested bee-eater (Merops oreobates)
- Red-throated bee-eater (Merops bulocki)
- White-fronted bee-eater (Merops bullockoides)
- Somali bee-eater (Merops revoilii)
- White-throated bee-eater (Merops albicollis)
- Böhm's bee-eater (Merops boehmi)
- Green bee-eater (Merops orientalis)
- Blue-cheeked bee-eater (Merops persicus)
- Olive bee-eater (Merops superciliosus)
- Blue-tailed bee-eater (Merops phillipinus)
- Rainbow bee-eater (Merops ornatus)
- Blue-throated bee-eater (Merops viridis)
- Rufous-crowned bee-eater (Merops viridis americanus)
- Chestnut-headed bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti)
- European bee-eater (Merops apiaster)
- Rosy bee-eater (Merops malimbicus)
- Northern carmine bee-eater (Merops nubicus)
- Southern carmine bee-eater (Merops nubicoides)
Former species
Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus Merops:
- Magpie-lark (as Merops picatus)
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References
- ↑ Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Volume 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii. p. 117.
- ↑ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1945). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 233.
- ↑ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 251. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ↑ "IOC World Bird List 7.1". IOC World Bird List Datasets. doi:10.14344/ioc.ml.7.1.