Eupetomena is a genus in the hummingbird family Trochilidae. It contains two species which are both found in eastern South America.

Taxonomy

The genus Eupetomena was introduced in 1853 by the English ornithologist John Gould to accommodate a single species, the swallow-tailed hummingbird which therefore becomes the type species. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek eu (εὐ-) meaning "good" and the neuter participle petomena (πετόμενα) meaning "always on the wing" or "flying" (from petomai, πέτομαι, "to fly"). Literally, it can mean "the one that flies well, good flyer" (εὐπετόμενα). The genus contains two species: The sombre hummingbird was formerly placed in the genus Aphantochroa but based primarily on a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014, Aphantochroa has been merged into Eupetomena.