Melopyrrha

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Passerida
Superfamilia: Passeroidea

Familia: Thraupidae
Genus: Melopyrrha
Species: M. grandis – M. nigra – M. portoricensis – M. taylori – M. violacea
[acc. Burns et al. (2014); NACC 2018-C-11; IOC 10.2]
Name

Melopyrrha Bonaparte, 1853

Typus: Loxia nigra Linnaeus, 1758 = Melopyrrha nigra

References
Primary references

Bonaparte, C.L. 1853. Notes sur les collections rapportées en 1853, par M. A.Delattre, de son voyage en Californie et dans le Nicaragua. 3ème. communication. Compte Rendu des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences. Mallet-Bachelier. Paris. 37: 913–925 BHL. Reference page. p. 924

Additional references

Garrido, O.H. & Wiley, J.W. 2003. The taxonomic status of the Puerto Rican Bullfinch (Loxigilla portoricensis) (Emberizidae) in Puerto Rico and St. Kitts. Ornitología Neotropical 14: 91-98 Full article PDF Reference page.
Burns, K.J., Shultz, A.J., Title, P.O., Mason N.A., Barker, F.K., Klicka, J., Lanyon, S.M. & Lovette, I.J. 2014. Phylogenetics and diversification of tanagers (Passeriformes: Thraupidae), the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 75:41–77. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.02.006 Full article (PDF) Open accessReference page.
Garrido, O.H., Wiley, J.W., Kirkconnell, A., Bradley, P.E., Günther-Calhoun, A. & Rodríguez, D. 2014. Revision of the endemic West Indian genus Melopyrrha from Cuba and the Cayman Islands. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 134(2): 134–145 Full article (PDF) Reference page.

Melopyrrha is a genus of passerine birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is made up of four extant species endemic to the Greater Antilles, along with 1 possibly extinct species from the island of Saint Kitts in the Lesser Antilles.
Taxonomy

The genus Melopyrrha was introduced in 1853 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte.[1] The type species was later specified by George Robert Gray as the Cuban bullfinch.[2] The name combines the Ancient Greek melas meaning "black" with the genus Pyrrhula introduced by Mathurin Jacques Brisson for the bullfinches.[3] This genus was formerly monospecific containing only the Cuban bullfinch.[4] A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the genus Loxigilla was polyphyletic and that the Greater Antillean bullfinch, Puerto Rican bullfinch and Cuban bullfinch formed a clade.[5] The three species were therefore placed together in Melopyrrha.[6] In 2021, the possibly extinct St. Kitts bullfinch (M. grandis) was split from M. portoricensis as a distinct species.[7]

Although these species were traditionally placed with the buntings and New World sparrows in the family Emberizidae,[4] molecular genetic studies have shown that they are members of the tanager family Thraupidae and belong to the subfamily Coerebinae that also contains Darwin's finches.[5]
Species

The five species in the genus are:[6]

Image	Common Name	Scientific name	Distribution
	Puerto Rican bullfinch	Melopyrrha portoricensis	Puerto Rico.
	St. Kitts bullfinch	Melopyrrha grandis	Saint Kitts.
	Greater Antillean bullfinch	Melopyrrha violacea	Bahamas, Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti, as well as surrounding islands), Jamaica, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
	Grand Cayman bullfinch	Melopyrrha taylori	Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
	Cuban bullfinch	Melopyrrha nigra	Cuba.

References

Bonaparte, Charles Lucien (1853). "Notes sur les collections rapportées en 1853, par M. A. Delattre, de son voyage en Californie et dans le Nicaragua: Troisième communication - Passereux Conirostres". Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences (in French). 37: 913–925 [924].
Gray, George Robert (1855). Catalogue of the Genera and Subgenera of Birds Contained in the British Museum. London: British Museum. p. 82.
Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 250. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1970). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 13. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 151.
Burns, K.J.; Shultz, A.J.; Title, P.O.; Mason, N.A.; Barker, F.K.; Klicka, J.; Lanyon, S.M.; Lovette, I.J. (2014). "Phylogenetics and diversification of tanagers (Passeriformes: Thraupidae), the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 75: 41–77. Bibcode:2014MolPE..75...41B. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.02.006. PMID 24583021.
Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2020). "Tanagers and allies". IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
"Species Updates – IOC World Bird List". Retrieved 2021-07-29.