NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Sooty Honeyeater
Melionyx fuscus (De Vis, 1897)
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.
Melionyx fuscus, Wamena, Papua, Indonesia, 2015-08-09 (iNaturalist).
Nigel Voaden · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The sooty honeyeater (Melionyx fuscus) is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found in the New Guinea Highlands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
This species was formerly placed in the genus Melidectes. It was moved to the resurrected genus Melionyx based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2019. At the same time the common name was changed from "sooty melidectes" to "sooty honeyeater".
Wikipedia contributors, Sooty honeyeater; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:42:31.159661+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Melionyx fuscus (De Vis, 1897)
- Name authority
- (De Vis, 1897)
- Common name
- Sooty Honeyeater
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Meliphagidae
- Genus
- Melionyx
- 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
- familyMeliphagidae
- genusMelionyx Iredale, 1956
- speciesMelionyx fuscus (De Vis, 1897)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Melionyx. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Long-bearded HoneyeaterMelionyx princeps (Mayr & Gilliard, 1951) | MeliphagidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Melidectes fuscus (De Vis, 1897) (De Vis, 1897) | synonym |
| Melidectes fuscus fuscus (De Vis, 1897) (De Vis, 1897) | synonym |
| Melidectes fuscus occidentalis Junge, 1939 Junge, 1939 | synonym |
| Acanthochoera fusca De Vis, 1897 De Vis, 1897 | 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=1171791 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.
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:8TYTZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.