The greater melampitta (Megalampitta gigantea) is a species of bird in the family Melampittidae. It is the only species in the genus Megalampitta, although it was once placed in the genus Melampitta with the lesser melampitta.[2] Formerly classified as a bird-of-paradise, the little-known greater melampitta has an uncertain taxonomy and is sometimes believed to be affiliated to pitohuis, as it appears to be poisonous to eat (Frith and Beehler 1998).
| Greater melampitta | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Melampittidae |
| Genus: | Megalampitta Schodde & Christidis, 2014 |
| Species: | M. gigantea
|
| Binomial name | |
| Megalampitta gigantea (Rothschild, 1899)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Melampitta gigantea | |
It is found in New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is often found in karsts, and nests in narrow limestone sinkholes.[3] It is primarily ground-dwelling, and cannot fly for long distances.[3]
References
edit- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Megalampitta gigantea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22706088A94050207. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22706088A94050207.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ Schodde, R.; Christidis, L. (2014). "Relicts from Tertiary Australasia: undescribed families and subfamilies of songbirds (Passeriformes) and their zoogeographic signal". Zootaxa. 3786 (5): 501–522. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3786.5.1. PMID 24869551.
- ^ a b Müller, Ingo A.; Thörn, Filip; Rajan, Samyuktha; Ericson, Per; Dumbacher, John P.; Maiah, Gibson; Blom, Mozes; Jønsson, Knud A.; Irestedt, Martin (2023-10-22). "Species-specific dynamics may cause deviations from general biogeographical predictions – evidence from a population genomics study of a New Guinean endemic passerine bird family (Melampittidae)". doi:10.1101/2023.10.19.563072. S2CID 265213552. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
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