| Ptilotula | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Yellow-tinted honeyeater (Ptilotula flavescens) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Meliphagidae |
| Genus: | Ptilotula Mathews, 1912 |
| Type species | |
| Ptilotis flavescens[1] Gould, 1840 | |
Ptilotula is a genus ofhoneyeater consisting of species occurring inAustralia andPapua New Guinea. The genus consists of six former members ofLichenostomus, and was created after amolecular analysis showed the genus waspolyphyletic.[2] TheInternational Ornithologists' Union accepted this change and officially included the genus in reference lists from 2013.[3] Thetype species is theyellow-tinted honeyeater (Ptilotula flavescens).[2] Birds in this genus typically occupy dry open forest and woodland habitats, and can be found in arid and semi-arid environments.[2][4]
The genus includes six species:[3]
Ptilotula species are medium-sized honeyeaters ranging from 13 cm to 18.5 cm in size, with theyellow-tinted honeyeater (P. flavescens) smallest at 13–15.5 cm and theyellow-plumed honeyeater (P. ornatus) largest at 14–18.5 cm.[5] The characteristic features all species share are a plain face with a black proximal stripe and either yellow or white distal plumes across the sides of the neck.[4]
Until recently, the members ofPtilotula were considered part ofLichenostomus.[2] They were recognised as aclade within this genus, displaying similarities in morphological characters and habitat preferences.[2][4] Extensivemolecular phylogenetic analyses of the honeyeater familyMeliphagidae occurred during the first decade of the 21st century, resulting inLichenostomus being split into seven genera.
The namePtilotula was first proposed by the Australian ornithologistGregory Mathews in 1912.[6][7] Prior to 1912 most honeyeaters were placed in eitherMeliphaga orMelithreptus.[6] He attempted to resolve this by placing 14 species intoPtilotis, a genus originally described byJohn Gould; but Mathews recognised his treatment waspolyphyletic. He rectified this by creating several new genera fromPtilotis, placing the white-plumed honeyeater (P. penicillatus) and the yellow-tinted honeyeater (P. flavescens) inPtilotula.[8] However, when contributing to the Second Official Checklist of the Birds of Australia, theRoyal Australasian Ornithologists Union rejected Mathews' phylogenic treatment as they did not agree with the formation of so many new genera. Mathews compromised by allowing these species to remain inMeliphaga and notingPtilotula as a sub-genus.[9][10]
In subsequent works, Mathews continued to listPtilotula as a genus rather than sub-genus.[10][11] In addition to the two species listed above, he included thegrey-headed honeyeater (P. keartlandi), theyellow-plumed honeyeater (P. ornatus) and thegrey-fronted honeyeater (P. plumulus) in the genus. Nevertheless, other authors continued to follow the RAOU standard usingMeliphaga for all these species.[12][13][14]
In 1975 the Australian ornithologistRichard Schodde argued that the criteria used to determine membership inMeliphaga was too broad and that if applied consistently, more than half of the family would be placed in this genus.[15] He splitMeliphaga into three genera, placing thePtilotula clade inLichenostomus. The development of molecular analyses resulted in later research which agreed with Schodde's assessment, but while identifyingPtilotula as a clade early techniques were unable to give sufficient weight to warrant a split fromLichenostomus.[4] By 2010 newer techniques clearly showed thatLichenostomus was polyphyletic and needed to be reviewed.[16]
In 2011, Nyari and Joseph were finally able to show that thePtilotula clade warranted promotion to genus.[2] Their assessment confirmed the evolutionary relationship Mathews had proposed in 1931, albeit with the inclusion of thefuscous honeyeater (P. fuscus) which he had placed in the monotypic genusParaptilotis.[11] They also showed that three otherLichenostomus species,varied honeyeater (Gavicalis versicolor),singing honeyeater (G. virescens) andmangrove honeyeater (G. fasciogularis) could also be placed inPtilotula due to being closely related. These three species are much larger (16–24 cm) and all share a black band from the bill through the eye to the neck, a character absent in thePtilotula complex.[5] For this reason, they decided not to include them inPtilotula and instead placed them in their own genusGavicalis.
Ptilotula are derived from an unknown ancestor which occupied dry woodland in central Australia.[4] Walter Boles described a fossil leg bone found in Riversleigh, Queensland from an as yet unnamedPliocene species as characteristic oftibias from theLichenostomus-Meliphaga complex.[17] It is most similar in size to those ofP.keartlandi andP.plumulus, two species which are resident in the region[17] and closely related sister species.[2] The environment has been dry woodland since the late Miocene to early Pliocene[18] hence the similarities to extant species indicate this fossil may represent an ancestor to these species.[17]
