''Anthochaera'' 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 nom ...

of birds in the honeyeater family. The

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

are endemic to Australia and include the

little wattlebird The little wattlebird (''Anthochaera chrysoptera''), also known as the brush wattlebird, is a passerine bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is found in coastal and sub-coastal south-eastern Australia. Taxonomy The little wattlebird wa ...

, the

red wattlebird The red wattlebird (''Anthochaera carunculata'') is a passerine bird native to southern Australia. At in length, it is the second largest species of Australian honeyeater. It has mainly grey-brown plumage, with red eyes, distinctive pinkish-re ...

, the

western wattlebird The western wattlebird (''Anthochaera lunulata'') is a passerine bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae. It is restricted to south-western Australia. Taxonomy The species description was published by John Gould in 1838, from a specim ...

, and the

yellow wattlebird The yellow wattlebird (''Anthochaera paradoxa'') is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. Other names include the long wattlebird or Tasmanian wattlebird. Taxonomy French zoologist François Marie Daudin described the yellow w ...

. A molecular phylogenetic study has shown that the

regent honeyeater The regent honeyeater (''Anthochaera phrygia'') is a critically endangered bird endemic to southeastern Australia. It is commonly considered a flagship species within its range, with the efforts going into its conservation having positive eff ...

also belongs in this genus.

Description

Of the five species in the genus only the

(''Anthochaera paradoxa'') and the

(''A. carunculata'') have the wattles of their common name. These are bare fleshy appendages, usually wrinkled and often brightly coloured, hanging from the cheeks, neck or throat, and presumably serving for display. A common name for species of the genus is wattlebird, a term also used for unrelated avian species.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Anthochaera'' was introduced in 1827 by the naturalists Nicholas Aylward Vigors and

Thomas Horsfield Thomas Horsfield (May 12, 1773 – July 24, 1859) was an American physician and naturalist who worked extensively in Indonesia, describing numerous species of plants and animals from the region. He was later a curator of the East India Company ...

. The name is derived from the Greek ''anthos'' meaning flower or bloom and ''khairō'' meaning to enjoy. 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 specime ...

was designated as the

by the German ornithologist Hans Friedrich Gadow in 1884. The

(''Anthochaera phrygia'') was formerly placed in its own genus, ''Xanthomyza'', but placed with the ''Anthochaera'' genus in a 2004 molecular phylogenetic study. The genus ''Anthochaera'' is sister group to the species '' Acanthagenys rufogularis'', the spiny-cheeked honeyeater, separated as a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

genus.

Species and distribution

The genus ''Anthochaera'' contains the following species:

References

External links

Wattlebird videos
on the Internet Bird Collection {{Taxonbar, from=Q262603 ^ Bird genera Taxa named by Thomas Horsfield Taxa named by Nicholas Aylward Vigors

Description

Taxonomy

Species and distribution

See also

References

External links