Cotinga 25 Taxonomic Round-up Yet another new species from paraensis (in east Amazonian perhaps leading to further Peruvian white-sand forests...! Brazil). substantial refinements in our The remarkable white-sand • Whitney, B. M. & Alvarez Alonso, knowledge as it currently stands. (;varillal) forests of the J. (2005) A new species of • Maurício, G. N. (2005) Taxonomy Allpahuayo-Mishana National gnatcatcher from white-sand of southern populations in the Reserve, just west of Iquitos, Peru, forests of northern Amazonian Scytalopus speluncae group, have already yielded a handful of Peru with revision of the with description of a new species new species in recent years, Polioptila guianensis complex. and remarks on the systematics including a Zimmerius tyrannulet Wilson Bull. 117: 113-127. and biogeography of the complex (Cotinga 17: 11) and a Percnostola (Passeriformes: Rhinocryptidae). antbird (Cotinga 18: 15), and now Some insights into the Ararajuba 13: 7-28. Polioptila clementsi. To date, the taxonomy of Atlantic Forest new gnatcatcher is known only Scytalopus And another new species of from the recently created reserve, Whilst workers have appreciated Scytalopus from the Colombian and is rare even there (we have for over two decades the A ndes already remarked on its imperiled complexity of Scytalopus Scytalopus stilesi (named for the conservation status: see Cotinga populations in the Andean chain, many contributions to Colombian 18: 11-12). Indeed, the authors of it is only more recently that those and Neotropical ornithology of the type description recommend working in the Atlantic Forest Gary Stiles) is endemic to the that P. clementsi be categorised as have begun to appreciate the central Colombian Andes in the Critically Endangered, as suitable taxonomic problems inherent to dptos. of Antioquia, Caldas and habitat within its restricted range this group in the latter region. Risaralda, where it inhabits cloud continues to be degraded and Now, Giovanni Maurício has forests at c.l,400-2,100 m destroyed. Comparisons of described a new species, elevation. The new species has morphological and vocal Scytalopus pachecoi (named for been suggested to be Near characters have confirmed that Fernando Pacheco, in honour of Threatened, and is distinguishable the new species, named for the his great many contributions to from closely related taxa on the recently deceased James Clements modern Brazilian ornithology), basis of vocalisations, DNA and (in recognition of his financial from three highland regions of distribution. S. stilesi appears to contribution to the protection of southernmost Brazil and adjacent occur in sympatry with S. latrans, the area), is a member of the extreme north-east Argentina. The S. spillmanni and S. atratus, but Polioptila guianensis complex, new species is separable from both is somewhat ecologically which comprises at least three S. speluncae and S. novacapitalis segregated from all three. poorly known, allopatric taxa on the basis of plumage and vocal­ • Cuervo, A. M., Cadena, C. D., ranging from the Guianas and the isations, although it is arguably Krabbe, N. & Renjifo, L. M. rio Negro region through much of closest to the latter species in (2005) Scytalopus stilesi, a new species of tapaculo Amazonia south of the Amazon. morphology. Furthermore, the (Rhinocryptidae) from the Roughly equivalent levels of author draws attention to potentially significant differences Central Cordillera of Colombia. phenotypic differentiation are Auk 122: 445-463. documented for all taxa east of the between northern and southern Andes, including the new species. populations of S. speluncae, which may lead to their recognition as Planalto Foliage-gleaner is not a Given that some other species Philydor complexes in the genus comprise separate species in the future. Newly discovered populations of A recent paper, by Mark Robbins sister taxa showing lower levels of and Kevin Zimmer, contends on phenotypic differentiation, both Scytalopus in Minas Gerais and Bahia may, on the basis of current the basis of vocal, plumage and morphologically and vocally, the morphological evidence that authors of the new species have evidence, also represent undescribed species. Nonetheless, Philydor dimidiatum (Planalto recommended that the Guianan Foliage-gleaner) belongs not in the Gnatcatcher P. guianensis be it also seems likely that further work will build substantially on large genus Philydor, but in henceforth considered to comprise Syndactyla. Furthermore, the three species, with in addition to that reported here, as the distribu­ tion, vocalisations and plumages of authors also found sufficient ‘nominate’ guianensis in the evidence to suggest that the genus Guianas, P. facilis (in Venezuela east Brazilian Scytalopus become increasingly better known, Simoxenops (the recurvebills) also and north-east Brazil) and P. be subsumed within Syndactyla. A 9 Cotinga 25 Taxonomic Round-up number of changes to the specific Pionopsitta also revealed the basal New insights into the correct names of the taxa involved are and unique position of P. pileata . generic placement of some required when Robbins and The latter study, which also Neotropical eagles Zimmer’s suggestions are followed. combined a study of toucans, A recent attempt to reconstruct a • Robbins, M. B. & Zimmer, K. J. confirmed the early divergence of phylogeny of the tribe Aquilini (2005) Taxonomy, vocalisations Serra do Mar (Atlantic Forest) (eagles with fully feathered tarsi) and natural history of Philydor taxa in both Pionopsitta and using both mitochondrial and dimidiatum (Furnariidae), with Pteroglossus. This study further nuclear DNA has provided some comments on the systematics of supported the results of another highly congruent and interesting Syndactyla and Simoxenops. recent genetic study (see Cotinga results. Monophyly of the Aquilini Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 125: 24: 9-10) which suggested that the relative to other birds of prey was 212-228. genus Baillonius nestles well confirmed. For Neotropical taxa, within Pteroglossus and that the the following results are most A phylogeny for the antpittas former should subsumed within interesting: all polytypic genera Phylogenetic relationships among the latter. within the tribe, Spizaetus, Aquila, antpitta genera have been studied • Ribas, C. C., Gaban-Lima, R., Hieraaetus, proved to be non- using mtDNA sequence data. The Miyaki, C. Y. & Cracraft, J. monophyletic, whilst Spizastur clade representing the traditional (2005) Historical biogeography melanoleucus and Oroaetus isidori antpitta genera (Grallaria, and diversification within the nestled among the New World Grallaricula, Hylopezus, Neotropical parrot genus Spizaetus species and, it is Myrmothera and Pittasorna) was Pionopsitta (Aves: Psittacidae). recommended, should be merged found to be paraphyletic and a J. Biogeogr. 32: 1409-1428. with the latter genus. previously unreported relation­ • Eberhard, J. E. & Bermingham, E. • Helbig, A. J., Kocum, A., Seibold, I. ship, that of Pittasorna being the (2005) Phylogeny and & Braun, M. J. (2005) A multi- sister genus to Conopophaga comparative biogeography of gene phylogeny of aquiline (Conopophagidae), was strongly Pionopsitta parrots and eagles (Aves: Accipitriformes) supported. The remaining antpitta Pteroglossus toucans. Mol. Phyl. reveals extensive paraphyly at genera form a fully resolved and & Evol. 36: 288-304. the genus level. Mol. Phyl. & well-supported monophyletic Evol. 35: 147-164. lineage containing two major Kalinowski’s Tinamou: the subclades: the first consisting of species that never was W hither the way forward in the genus Grallaria and the Kalinowski’s Tinamou Nothoprocta defining species lim its in second has Hylopezus as sister kalinowskii has one of the antbirds? genus to Myrmothera, with strangest distributions of any Three papers in a recent issue of Grallaricula as their sister genus. Peuvian bird, despite being known Auk examine problems of defining • Rice, N. H. (2005) Phylogenetic from just three specimens, and has species limits in antbirds. A study relationships of antpitta genera long been considered highly of five populations of Variable (Passeriformes: Formicariidae). threatened with extinction, if Antshi'ike Thamnophilus Auk 122: 673-683. indeed it still persisted. Following caerulescens in southern South a detailed analysis of the type America identified a clinal Separate phylogenies for the specimen and other relevant variation in the loudsongs of males genus Pionopsitta (and material, Niels Krabbe and Tom of the different populations which, Pteroglossus) Schulenberg have concluded that in turn, was coincident with A recently published phylogeny of N. kalinowskii must be considered genetic variation in some of the the genus Pionopsitta, using an invalid species and that the same taxa uncovered by a several other genera of short-tailed name represents a junior synonym companion DNA study focusing on parrots as outgroups, found that of N. ornato branckii. This finding the Bolivian populations. The these parrots could not be has the happy outcome of Islers et al. recommend that, in considered a monophyletic removing one species from the list future, at least three different grouping and recommended that of those considered on the verge of vocal characters be studied in the genus Gypopsitta be extinction. works that seek to identify new resurrected for those eight species • Krabbe, N. & Schulenberg, T. S. species-level taxa amongst in Central America, the Chocó and (2005) A mystery solved: