Myiomela
my-ee-OH-meh-luh
Genus
the black fly-catcher
Literally: black fly(-catcher)
| Part | Meaning | Language | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| myi- | a fly (the insect); the stem of μυῖα, used as myio- in combining form | Greek (myia) | combining form myio-, here reduced to myi- before the connecting vowel o |
| -o- | connecting vowel | standard Greek combining vowel | |
| -mela | black (μέλας, μέλαινα, μέλαν) | Greek (melas) | stem mel-, here appearing as mela-, the feminine/neuter stem; refers to the dark plumage of these birds |
A single Greek compound noun treated as feminine Latin, as is conventional for animal genus names. The first element myio- (fly) acts as a qualifier of the head element -mela (black), together evoking a dark-plumaged flycatcher — a bird that catches flies and is black. No epithet is present; this is a monomial genus name.
Pronunciation
- my-ee-OH-meh-luh Five syllables (my-i-o-me-la). Penult 'me' has a short vowel followed by a single consonant (l), so penult stress is not triggered. Stress falls on the antepenult 'o', which is short (followed by a single consonant then one vowel, not two).
Other readings
It is remotely possible that -mela derives from Greek μέλος (melos, song) rather than μέλας (melas, black), giving 'fly-song' — but the plumage of the type species (Myiomela leucura and allies) is very dark, making 'black' far more likely.
Neither myia (Greek: fly) nor melas (Greek: black) was found in the dictionary via tool search; both roots are supplied from general classical knowledge and are marked in_dictionary: false. Confidence is high for both because they are well-attested Greek roots widely used in zoological nomenclature (e.g. Myiagra, Melanerpes). Myiomela is a genus of Old World flycatchers (family Muscicapidae) established by Hodgson (1845). The name alludes to the characteristically dark (blackish) plumage of these insect-catching birds.