NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Palau Greater White-eye
Megazosterops palauensis (Reichenow, 1915)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The giant white-eye, or Palau greater white-eye (Megazosterops palauensis) is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is monotypic within the genus Megazosterops. It is endemic to Palau, where its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forest. The species is currently classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN due to likely habitat loss and the possibility of the establishment of the invasive Brown tree snake on the island.The Giant White-eye is 13-14cm large. It has a pale yellowish supercilium from the eye, widening backwards. Iris, greyish to dark brown. Narrow pale-yellow eye ring. Dark loral area leading to dark greying ear-coverts with pale yellow mottling. Dark fulvous olive over, crown feathers, greyish towards bases. Slightly buffy flanks. Legs tawny or olive-green with yellowish soles. It has a mottled appearance.
Wikipedia contributors, Giant white-eye; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:19:51.196877+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Megazosterops palauensis (Reichenow, 1915)
- Name authority
- (Reichenow, 1915)
- Common name
- Palau Greater White-eye
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Zosteropidae
- Genus
- Megazosterops
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyZosteropidae Bonaparte, 1853
- genusMegazosterops Stresemann, 1930
- speciesMegazosterops palauensis (Reichenow, 1915)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Rukia palauensis (Reichenow, 1915) (Reichenow, 1915) | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=915830 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3YZYH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.