Hylocharis
Genus of birds
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hylocharis is a genus of hummingbirds, in the family Trochilidae. It contains two species that are both found in South America.
| Hylocharis | |
|---|---|
| |
| Gilded sapphire (Hylocharis chrysura) photographed in São Paulo, Brazil. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Tribe: | Trochilini |
| Genus: | Hylocharis Boie, F, 1831 |
| Type species | |
| Trochilus sapphirinus (rufous-throated sapphire) Gmelin, JF, 1788 | |
| Species | |
|
2, see text | |
Taxonomy
The genus Hylocharis was introduced in 1831 by the German naturalist Friedrich Boie.[1] The type species was designated by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1840 as the rufous-throated sapphire.[2][3] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek hulē meaning "woodland" or "forest" with kharis meaning "beauty".[4]
This genus formerly included additional species. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the genus Hylocharis was polyphyletic.[5] In the revised classification to create monophyletic genera, species were moved to Chrysuronia and Chlorestes.[6][7]
The genus now contains the following two species:[6]
| Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rufous-throated sapphire
|
Hylocharis sapphirina (Gmelin, JF, 1788) |
Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, the Guianas, Peru, Venezuela and possibly Argentina and Paraguay |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
| Gilded sapphire
|
Hylocharis chrysura (Shaw, 1812) |
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
