Melaniparus is a genus of birds in the tit family that are found in sub-Saharan Africa.
Taxonomy The species now assigned to this genus were formerly placed in the speciose genus Parus but were moved to Melaniparus based on a molecular phylogenetic analysis published in 2013 that showed that the members formed a distinct clade. The genus Melaniparus had originally been introduced by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1850. The type species was subsequently designated as the southern black tit (Melaniparus niger). The name of the genus combines the Ancient Greek melas, melanos "black" and the genus Parus introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
The following 14 species, all from Africa and mostly having dark plumage, have been placed in the genus: Image Scientific name Common name Distribution Melaniparus guineensis White-shouldered black tit Africa from Senegal in the west to Kenya and Ethiopia in the east Melaniparus leucomelas White-winged black tit central Africa, from Angola in the west to Ethiopia in the east Melaniparus niger Southern black tit Angola to the Eastern Cape, South Africa Melaniparus carpi Carp's tit Angola and Namibia Melaniparus albiventris White-bellied tit Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda Melaniparus leuconotus White-backed black tit Eritrea and Ethiopia. Melaniparus funereus Dusky tit Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Uganda Melaniparus rufiventris Rufous-bellied tit Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Zambia, Namibia and Botswana Melaniparus fringillinus Red-throated tit Kenya and Tanzania Melaniparus fasciiventer Stripe-breasted tit Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Melaniparus thruppi Acacia tit or Somali Tit Ethiopia and Somalia south to north eastern Tanzania Melaniparus griseiventris Miombo tit Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe Melaniparus cinerascens Ashy tit Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Melaniparus afer Grey tit Lesotho and South Africa
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