Mellisuga
Genus of birds
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mellisuga is a genus of hummingbirds in the family Trochilidae. They are notable for being the first and second smallest bird species in the world.
| Mellisuga | |
|---|---|
| |
| Mellisuga helenae | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Strisores |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Tribe: | Mellisugini |
| Genus: | Mellisuga Brisson, 1760 |
| Type species | |
| Trochilus minimus Linnaeus, 1758 | |
The genus was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the vervain hummingbird as the type species.[1][2] The name Mellisuga is a combination of the Latin words mel or mellis, meaning "honey" and sugere, meaning "to suck".[3]
Extant species
The genus contains two species:[4]
| Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bee hummingbird
Male
|
Mellisuga helenae (Lembeye, 1850) |
Cuba and Isla de la Juventud |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
NT
|
| Vervain hummingbird
|
Mellisuga minima (Linnaeus, 1758) Two subspecies
|
Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti) and Jamaica |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
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