The genus
Hylocharis was introduced in 1831 by the German naturalist
Friedrich Boie. The
type species was designated by the English zoologist
George Robert Gray in 1840 as the
rufous-throated sapphire. The genus name combines the
Ancient Greek hulē meaning "woodland" or "forest" with
kharis meaning "beauty". This genus formerly included additional species. A
molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the genus
Hylocharis was
polyphyletic. In the revised classification to create
monophyletic genera, species were moved to
Chrysuronia and
Chlorestes. The genus now contains the following two species: ==References==