NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Ashy Tit
Melaniparus cinerascens (Vieillot, 1818)
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.
Melaniparus cinerascens at Elephant Sands Lodge, Botswana.
Derek Keats · CC BY 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The ashy tit (Melaniparus cinerascens) is a species of bird in the family Paridae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and dry savanna.
The ashy tit was formerly one of the many species in the genus Parus but was moved to Melaniparus after a molecular phylogenetic analysis published in 2013 showed that the members of the new genus formed a distinct clade.
Wikipedia contributors, Ashy tit; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:38:30.545392+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Melaniparus cinerascens (Vieillot, 1818)
- Name authority
- (Vieillot, 1818)
- Common name
- Ashy Tit
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Paridae
- Genus
- Melaniparus
- 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
- familyParidae Vigors, 1825
- genusMelaniparus Bonaparte, 1850
- speciesMelaniparus cinerascens (Vieillot, 1818)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Melaniparus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Grey TitMelaniparus afer (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | ParidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dusky TitMelaniparus funereus J. Verreaux & É. Verreaux, 1855 | ParidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Miombo TitMelaniparus griseiventris (Reichenow, 1882) | ParidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-shouldered Black TitMelaniparus guineensis (Shelley, 1900) | ParidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-winged Black TitMelaniparus leucomelas (Rüppell, 1840) | ParidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Southern Black TitMelaniparus niger (Vieillot, 1818) | ParidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Parus cinerascens Vieillot, 1818 Vieillot, 1818 | 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=1279963 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:QV5R7. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.