Symposiachrus is a genus of birds in the family Monarchidae. Most species are endemic to islands in Melanesia but the spectacled monarch is widely distributed and occurs in parts of Indonesia and western Australia. The genus was previously lumped together in the genus Monarcha.
Taxonomy and systematics Based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2005, the genus Monarcha was split and 19 species moved to the resurrected genus Symposiachrus that had been introduced by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854 with the spectacled monarch (Symposiachrus trivirgatus) as the type species. The genus name Symposiachrus combines the Ancient Greek συν/sun meaning "together", ποσις/posis meaning "husband" and αχρως/akhrōs meaning "pallid".
The genus Symposiachrus contains the following 23 species: Image Common name Scientific name Distribution Black monarch Symposiachrus axillarisNew Guinea. Spot-winged monarch Symposiachrus guttula New Guinea. Banda Sea monarch (formerly Black-bibbed monarch) Symposiachrus mundus Tanimbar Islands. Flores monarch Symposiachrus sacerdotumFlores in Indonesia. Louisiade monarch Symposiachrus melanopterusPapua New Guinea. Boano monarch Symposiachrus boanensis Boano, Maluku islands. Spectacled monarch Symposiachrus trivirgatus Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. Moluccan monarch Symposiachrus bimaculatusIndonesia. Kai monarch Symposiachrus leucurus Kai Islands. Tanahjampea monarch Symposiachrus everetti Tanahjampea, Selayar Islands Buru monarch Symposiachrus loricatusMoluccas Kofiau monarch Symposiachrus julianaeKofiau in Indonesia. Biak monarch Symposiachrus brehmiiBiak Island, Indonesia. Hooded monarch Symposiachrus manadensis New Guinea. Manus monarch Symposiachrus infelixAdmiralty Islands of Papua New Guinea. Mussau monarch Symposiachrus menckei Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. Bismarck monarch Symposiachrus verticalis Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. Solomons monarch Symposiachrus barbatus southeast Solomon Islands archipelago Malaita monarch Symposiachrus malaitae Malaita in the Solomon Islands archipelago White-collared monarch Symposiachrus viduaSolomon Islands Vella Lavella monarch Symposiachrus nigrotectusnorthwest and north New Georgia Islands Kolombangara monarch Symposiachrus browniSolomon Islands Rufous monarch Symposiachrus rufiensisNew Guinea
References
Further reading Filardi, C.E., and R.G. Moyle. 2005. Single origin of a pan-Pacific bird group and upstream colonization of Australasia. Nature 438: 216–219. Mayr, E., and J. Diamond. 2001. The birds of northern Melanesia. Speciation, ecology, and biogeography. Oxford University Press.