Psilopogon is a genus of Old World barbets that used to include only a single species, the fire-tufted barbet (P. pyrolophus). Results of molecular phylogenetic analyses indicate that the genus is nested within an evolutionary branch consisting of Asian barbets that were formerly placed in the genus Megalaima proposed by George Robert Gray in 1841. Since Psilopogon was proposed by Salomon Müller already in 1835, this name takes priority.[1][2]
The type species of Psilopogon is the fire-tufted barbet proposed by Salomon Müller in 1835, who described a male barbet collected in Sumatra.[4][5]
In the 19th and 20th centuries, about 19 generic names were proposed for Asian barbet species in collections of natural history museums, including Megalaima by George Robert Gray in 1849 and Mezobucco by George Ernest Shelley in 1889.[6]Molecular phylogenetic research of Asian barbets revealed that the Megalaima species form a clade, which also includes the fire-tufted barbet. Barbets formerly placed in Megalaima were therefore reclassified under the genus Psilopogon, which now contains the following 32 species:[7]