''Lophorina'' 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 birds-of-paradise family

Paradisaeidae The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 44 species in 17 genera. The members of this ...

that are endemic to New Guinea, formerly containing a single species, but as of 2017, containing three species. All members sport a jet-black to black body found only in males, while their female counterparts sport brown upperparts (shade depends on the species) with barred underparts; they have a relatively long to shortish, slender, crow-like bill, and various ornaments. All three species have a distinctive cape found on the nape that they push forward, an iridescent blue-green crown, and an iridescent blue-greenish breast shield that appears to be "smiling" (''L. superba'') and "frowning" (''L. niedda'') that the males use to court females. When in full display, the birds look like an otherworldly cartoon character with a fully black face, blue eyes, and blue mouth as they hop and dance around a potential mate.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Lophorina'' was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist

Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot Louis Pierre Vieillot (10 May 1748, Yvetot – 24 August 1830, Sotteville-lès-Rouen) was a French ornithologist. Vieillot is the author of the first scientific descriptions and Linnaean names of a number of birds, including species he collec ...

for a single species, the

greater lophorina The greater lophorina (''Lophorina superba''), also known as superb bird-of-paradise or greater superb bird-of-paradise, is a species of the Paradisaeidae (bird-of-paradise) family. It was considered the sole species in the genus until in 2017 i ...

. This is now 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 ...

. The genus name 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 ...

''lophos'' meaning "crest" or "tuft" with ''rhis'', ''rhinos'' meaning "nostrils. The contents of this genus and that of '' Ptiloris'' is based on a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2017. The genus contains three species: *

Greater lophorina The greater lophorina (''Lophorina superba''), also known as superb bird-of-paradise or greater superb bird-of-paradise, is a species of the Paradisaeidae (bird-of-paradise) family. It was considered the sole species in the genus until in 2017 i ...

(''Lophorina superba'') * Crescent-caped lophorina (''Lophorina niedda'') * Lesser lophorina (''Lophorina minor'')

References

Bird genera Taxa named by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot {{Paradisaeidae-stub

Taxonomy

See also

References