Phyllomyias is a genus of small birds in the tyrant-flycatcher family Tyrannidae. They are found in wooded habitats of Central and South America. Some species are among the commonest birds in their range, while other are rare and threatened. They have a short, stubby bill, are greenish above, yellowish or whitish below, and all except the sooty-headed tyrannulet have pale wing-bars or edging. They feed on small arthropods and fruits. Most species regularly take part in mixed species flocks.

Phyllomyias
Planalto tyrannulet (Phyllomyias fasciatus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Tyrannidae
Genus: Phyllomyias
Cabanis & Heine, 1860
Type species
Platyrhynchus brevirostris
Planalto tyrannulet
Spix, 1825

Taxonomy

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The genus Phyllomyias was introduced in 1860 by the German ornithologists Jean Cabanis and Ferdinand Heine.[1] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek φυλλον/phullon meaning "leaf" with Modern Latin myias meaning "flycatcher".[2] The type species was subsequently designated in 1888 by Philip Sclater as Platyrhynchus brevirostris Spix, now a subspecies of the Planalto tyrannulet.[3][4]

Species

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The genus formerly included more species. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2020 found that the genus was paraphyletic.[5] In the rearrangement to create monophyletic genera three species were moved to the resurrected genus Tyranniscus and two species to the resurrected genus Acrochordopus.[6] The genus Phyllomyias now contains 9 species:[6]

Image Common Name Scientific name Distribution
  Greenish tyrannulet Phyllomyias virescens Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay
  Reiser's tyrannulet Phyllomyias reiseri central Brazil and northern Paraguay
Urich's tyrannulet Phyllomyias urichi Venezuela
  Sclater's tyrannulet Phyllomyias sclateri Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru
Yungas tyrannulet Phyllomyias weedeni north-western Bolivia and far south-eastern Peru
  Planalto tyrannulet Phyllomyias fasciatus eastern Brazil, extreme north-eastern Bolivia, eastern Paraguay, and far north-eastern Argentina
  Sooty-headed tyrannulet Phyllomyias griseiceps Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela
  Plumbeous-crowned tyrannulet Phyllomyias plumbeiceps Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru
  Grey-capped tyrannulet Phyllomyias griseocapilla Brazil

References

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  1. ^ Cabanis, Jean; Heine, Ferdinand (1859). Museum Heineanum : Verzeichniss der ornithologischen Sammlung des Oberamtmann Ferdinand Heine, auf Gut St. Burchard vor Halberstadt (in German). Vol. 2. Halberstadt: R. Frantz. p. 57.
  2. ^ Jobling, James A. "Phyllomyias". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  3. ^ Sclater, P.L. (1888). Catalogue of the Passeriformes or Perching Birds in the Collection of the British Museum. Oligomyodae or the families Tyrannidae, Oxyrhamphidae, Pipridae, Cotingidae, Phytotomidae, Philepittidae, Pittidae, Xenicidae, and Eurylaemidae. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Vol. 14. London: Trustees of the British Museum. p. 121.
  4. ^ Traylor, Melvin A. Jr, ed. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 8. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 3.
  5. ^ Harvey, M.G.; et al. (2020). "The evolution of a tropical biodiversity hotspot". Science. 370 (6522): 1343–1348. doi:10.1126/science.aaz6970. A high resolution version of the phylogenetic tree in Figure 1 is available from the first author's website here.
  6. ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Tyrant flycatchers". IOC World Bird List Version 14.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 17 November 2024.