''Meliphaga'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of birds in the honeyeater family

Meliphagidae The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, miners and melidectes. They are most common in Australia and New Guinea ...

. The genus was introduced by the English artist

John Lewin John William Lewin (1770 – 27 August 1819) was an English-born artist active in Australia from 1800. The first professional artist of the colony of New South Wales, he illustrated the earliest volumes of Australian natural history. Many of his ...

in 1808. The name ''Meliphaga'' 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 peri ...

meaning "honey" and meaning eating. 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 ...

is Lewin's honeyeater (''Meliphaga lewinii''). The genus contains three species: * Puff-backed honeyeater (''Meliphaga aruensis'') *

Yellow-spotted honeyeater The yellow-spotted honeyeater (''Meliphaga notata'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is also known as the lesser lewin. The bird is endemic to northern Queensland. The bird's common name refers to the yellow patch that membe ...

(''Meliphaga notata'') *

Lewin's honeyeater Lewin's honeyeater (''Meliphaga lewinii'') is a bird that inhabits the ranges along the east coast of Australia. It has a semicircular ear-patch, pale yellow in colour. The name of this bird commemorates the Australian artist John Lewin. Descri ...

(''Meliphaga lewinii'') The genus formerly included additional species. When

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 ...

studies found that ''Meliphaga'' contained two distinct clades, the genus was split and most of the species were moved to the resurrected genus '' Microptilotis'' leaving just three species in ''Meliphaga''.

References

Bird genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Meliphagidae-stub