Micromacronus
Encyclopedia
Micromacronus is a bird
genus
in the babbler family
Timaliidae endemic to the Philippines
. Long considered to be monotypic
, its members are known as miniature-babblers or miniature tit-babblers. As the scientific as well as the common names indicate, their habitus
resembles a diminutive version of the tit-babblers (Macronus). The genus was only described in 1962, upon the description of the first species, which had been collected by collector Manuel Celestino and Godofredo Alcasid, a zoologist at the Philippine National Museum.
The genus contains just two species
; the Visayan Miniature-babbler
, Micromacronus leytensis, and the Mindanao Miniature-babbler, Micromacronus sordidus. The two species in the genus have sometimes been treated as a single species. The Visayan Miniature-babbler
is found on the islands of Samar
, Leyte
and Biliran
in the central Philippines, whereas the Mindanao Miniature-babbler is restricted to Mindanao only.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
in the babbler family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Timaliidae endemic to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Long considered to be monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
, its members are known as miniature-babblers or miniature tit-babblers. As the scientific as well as the common names indicate, their habitus
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
resembles a diminutive version of the tit-babblers (Macronus). The genus was only described in 1962, upon the description of the first species, which had been collected by collector Manuel Celestino and Godofredo Alcasid, a zoologist at the Philippine National Museum.
The genus contains just two species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
; the Visayan Miniature-babbler
Visayan Miniature-babbler
The Visayan Miniature-babbler is a bird species in the family Timaliidae. It was for a long time the only member of the genus Micromacronus, but the Mindanao Miniature-babbler, formerly included in M. leytensis as a subspecies, is now usually held to be a distinct species, M. sordidus.M. leytensis...
, Micromacronus leytensis, and the Mindanao Miniature-babbler, Micromacronus sordidus. The two species in the genus have sometimes been treated as a single species. The Visayan Miniature-babbler
Visayan Miniature-babbler
The Visayan Miniature-babbler is a bird species in the family Timaliidae. It was for a long time the only member of the genus Micromacronus, but the Mindanao Miniature-babbler, formerly included in M. leytensis as a subspecies, is now usually held to be a distinct species, M. sordidus.M. leytensis...
is found on the islands of Samar
Samar
Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...
, Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
and Biliran
Biliran
In 1945 liberated by the Philippine Commonwealth forces of the 9th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army was landed in Biliran with the local guerrilla forces by the attack of the Japanese troops from the island during the Battle of Biliran during World War II.-Conversion:On April...
in the central Philippines, whereas the Mindanao Miniature-babbler is restricted to Mindanao only.