Heliantheini is one of the two tribes that make up the subfamily Lesbiinae of the hummingbird family Trochilidae. The other tribe in the subfamily is Lesbiini.
The informal name "brilliants" has been proposed for this group as it includes the genus Heliodoxa that has nine species with "brilliant" in their common name.
The tribe contains 53 species divided into 14 genera.
Phylogeny A molecular phylogenetic study of the hummingbirds published in 2007 found that the family was composed of nine major clades. When Edward Dickinson and James Van Remsen, Jr. updated the Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World for the 4th edition in 2013 they divided the hummingbirds into six subfamilies and proposed using the name Heliantheini for one of the two tribes in the subfamily Lesbiinae. The tribe Heliantheini had been introduced (as a subfamily Heliantheinae) by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1854.
Cladogram Molecular phylogenetic studies by Jimmy McGuire and collaborators published between 2007 and 2014 determined the relationships between the major groups of hummingbirds. In the cladogram below the English names are those introduced in 1997. The Latin names are those proposed by Dickinson and Remsen in 2013.
The phylogeny of the Heliantheini based on a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 is shown below. Loddigesia (marvelous spatuletail) was found to be embedded within Eriocnemis.
Taxonomic list The tribe contains 14 genera.
Image Genus Living species Haplophaedia Greenish puffleg, Haplophaedia aureliae Buff-thighed puffleg, Haplophaedia assimilis Hoary puffleg, Haplophaedia lugens Eriocnemis Black-breasted puffleg, Eriocnemis nigrivestis Gorgeted puffleg, Eriocnemis isabellae Glowing puffleg, Eriocnemis vestita Black-thighed puffleg, Eriocnemis derbyi Turquoise-throated puffleg, Eriocnemis godini Coppery-bellied puffleg, Eriocnemis cupreoventris Sapphire-vented puffleg, Eriocnemis luciani Golden-breasted puffleg, Eriocnemis mosquera Blue-capped puffleg, Eriocnemis glaucopoides Colorful puffleg, Eriocnemis mirabilis Emerald-bellied puffleg, Eriocnemis aline Loddigesia Marvelous spatuletail, Loddigesia mirabilis Aglaeactis Shining sunbeam, Aglaeactis cupripennis White-tufted sunbeam, Aglaeactis castelnaudii Purple-backed sunbeam, Aglaeactis aliciae Black-hooded sunbeam, Aglaeactis pamela Coeligena Bronzy inca, Coeligena coeligena Brown inca, Coeligena wilsoni Black inca, Coeligena prunellei Green inca, Coeligena conradii Collared inca, Coeligena torquata Gould's inca, Coeligena inca Violet-throated starfrontlet, Coeligena violifer Rainbow starfrontlet, Coeligena iris White-tailed starfrontlet, Coeligena phalerata Dusky starfrontlet, Coeligena orina Buff-winged starfrontlet, Coeligena lutetiae Perija starfrontlet, Coeligena consita Golden-bellied starfrontlet, Coeligena bonapartei Golden-tailed starfrontlet, Coeligena eos Blue-throated starfrontlet, Coeligena helianthea Lafresnaya Mountain velvetbreast, Lafresnaya lafresnayi Ensifera Sword-billed hummingbird, Ensifera ensifera Pterophanes Great sapphirewing, Pterophanes cyanopterus Boissonneaua Buff-tailed coronet, Boissonneaua flavescens Chestnut-breasted coronet, Boissonneaua matthewsii Velvet-purple coronet, Boissonneaua jardini Ocreatus White-booted racket-tail, Ocreatus underwoodii Peruvian racket-tail, Ocreatus peruanus Rufous-booted racket-tail, Ocreatus addae Urochroa Rufous-gaped hillstar, Urochroa bougueri Green-backed hillstar, Urochroa leucura Urosticte Purple-bibbed whitetip, Urosticte benjamini Rufous-vented whitetip, Urosticte ruficrissa Heliodoxa Velvet-browed brilliant, Heliodoxa xanthogonys Pink-throated brilliant, Heliodoxa gularis Rufous-webbed brilliant, Heliodoxa branickii Black-throated brilliant, Heliodoxa schreibersii Gould's jewelfront, Heliodoxa aurescens Fawn-breasted brilliant, Heliodoxa rubinoides Green-crowned brilliant, Heliodoxa jacula Empress brilliant, Heliodoxa imperatrix Violet-fronted brilliant, Heliodoxa leadbeateri Brazilian ruby, Heliodoxa rubricauda
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