Biology:Merops (genus)

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Short description: Genus of birds


Merops
African bee-eaters composite.jpg
Six common African Merops bee-eaters
Scientific classification e
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Meropidae
Genus: Merops
Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Merops apiaster
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

see text

Merops is a large genus of bee-eaters, a group of birds in the family Meropidae, native to Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. The members of this 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-eight species are recognized:[4]

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Merops boehmi

 
 
 
 
 

Merops muelleri

 
 

Merops m. mentalis

 
 
 
 

Merops gularis

 
 

M. g. australis

 
 
 
 
 
 

Merops oreobates

 
 

Merops hirundineus

 
 
 
 
 

Merops pusillus

 
 

M. p. meridionalis

 
 
 

Merops variegatus

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Merops ornatus

 
 

Merops apiaster

 
 
 
 
 

Merops persicus

 
 

Merops superciliosus

 
 
 

Merops philippinus

 
 
 
 
 
 

Merops viridis

 
 

Merops leschenaulti

 
 
 

Merops orientalis

 
 
 
 

Merops nubicus

 
 
 

Merops malimbicus

 
 
 

Merops albicollis

 
 
 
 

Merops breweri

 
 
 
 

Merops bulocki

 
 

Merops bullockoides

 
 
 
 

Meropogon

 
 
 

Nyctyornis

 
 
Bayesian consensus phylogeny based on nuclear and mitochondrial sequences of Meropidae (missing only Nyctyornis athertoni and M. revoilii)[5]
Image Common name Scientific name Distribution
Merops breweri Keulemans.jpg Black-headed bee-eater Merops breweri Angola, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Sudan.
Merops muelleri.jpg Blue-headed bee-eater Merops muelleri Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Kenya
Merops mentalis (cropped).jpg Blue-moustached bee-eater Merops mentalis Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
Black Bee-eater - Ghana S4E2547.jpg Black bee-eater Merops gularis from Sierra Leone to southeast Nigeria
Swallow-tailed bee-eater (Merops hirundineus hirundineus).jpg Swallow-tailed bee-eater Merops hirundineus sub-Saharan Africa
Little bee-eater (Merops pusillus pusillus).jpg Little bee-eater Merops pusillus Sub-Saharan Africa
20160605 0253 Bangweulu Guepier a collier bleu (cropped).jpg Blue-breasted bee-eater Merops variegatus Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Cameroon
Ethiopian Bee-eater (cropped).jpg Ethiopian bee-eater Merops lafresnayii Eritrea; Ethiopia; South Sudan; Sudan
Cinnamon-chested bee-eater (Merops oreobates) 2.jpg Cinnamon-chested bee-eater Merops oreobates Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Merops bulocki frenatus.jpg Red-throated bee-eater Merops bulocki Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda.
White-fronted bee-eater (Merops bullockoides) Namibia.jpg White-fronted bee-eater Merops bullockoides sub-equatorial Africa.
Somali Bee-eater, Merops revoilii (cropped).jpg Somali bee-eater Merops revoilii Ethiopia, through Somalia to northern and eastern Kenya
White-throated bee-eater (Merops albicollis) female.jpg White-throated bee-eater Merops albicollis southern Senegal to Uganda.
Boehm's Bee-eater - Malawi S4E2687 (22658131571).jpg Böhm's bee-eater Merops boehmi Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia.
Merops orientalis at Fayoum by Hatem Moushir 1.JPG African green bee-eater[6] Merops viridissimus sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal and the Gambia to Ethiopia; the Nile Valley
Green bee-eater with a bee.jpg Arabian green bee-eater[6] Merops cyanophrys Arabian Peninsula and the Levant
Merops orientalis - Pak Thale.jpg Asian green bee-eater[6] Merops orientalis Asia from coastal southern Iran east through the Indian subcontinent to Vietnam
Blue-cheeked bee-eater (Merops persicus persicus) Namibia.jpg Blue-cheeked bee-eater Merops persicus Northern Africa, and the Middle East from eastern Turkey to Kazakhstan and India
Olive Bee-eater, Ambola, SW Madagascar.jpg Olive bee-eater Merops superciliosus Angola; Botswana; Burundi; Comoros; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Kenya; Madagascar; Malawi; Mayotte; Mozambique; Namibia; Rwanda; Somalia; South Sudan; Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe
Blue-tailed bee-eater (Merops philippinus).jpg Blue-tailed bee-eater Merops philippinus southeastern Asia.
Rainbow Bee-eater - Fogg Dam - Darwin S4E5258 (22308831836).jpg Rainbow bee-eater Merops ornatus Australia, New Guinea, and some of the southern islands of Indonesia.
Blue-throated bee-eater (Merops viridis).jpg Blue-throated bee-eater Merops viridis south-east Asia
Rufous-crowned Bee-eater Merops viridis americanus, Luzon, Philippines (15901095124).jpg Rufous-crowned bee-eater Merops americanus the Philippines
Chestnut-headed bee-eater (Merops leschenaulti).jpg Chestnut-headed bee-eater Merops leschenaulti India east to Southeast Asia.
Şahlûr.jpg European bee-eater Merops apiaster southern Europe and in parts of north Africa and western Asia.
Merops malimbicus (cropped).jpg Rosy bee-eater Merops malimbicus Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo.
Merops nubicus 13zz.jpg Northern carmine bee-eater Merops nubicus Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda.
Southern Carmine Bee-eater (Merops nubicoides) (16732824032).jpg Southern carmine bee-eater Merops nubicoides KwaZulu-Natal and Namibia to Gabon, the eastern DRCongo and Kenya.

Former species

Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus Merops:

References

  1. ↑ Linnaeus, Carl (1758) (in Latin). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii. p. 117. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727022. 
  2. ↑ Peters, James Lee, ed (1945). Check-list of Birds of the World. 5. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 233. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14480244. 
  3. ↑ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 251. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4. https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling. 
  4. ↑ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds (August 2022). "Todies, motmots, bee-eaters". World Bird List Version 12.2. International Ornithologists' Union. https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/todies/. 
  5. ↑ Marks, Ben D.; Weckstein, Jason D.; Moyle, Robert G. (2007). "Molecular phylogenetics of the bee-eaters (Aves: Meropidae) based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 45 (1): 23–32. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.07.004. PMID 17716922. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Species Updates – IOC World Bird List" (in en-US). https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/updates/species-updates/. 

Wikidata ☰ Q269203 entry



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