Pseudosaltator, Burns, Kevin J., Unitt, Philip & Mason, Nicholas A., 2016

Burns, Kevin J., Unitt, Philip & Mason, Nicholas A., 2016, A genus-level classification of the family Thraupidae (Class Aves: Order Passeriformes), Zootaxa 4088 (3), pp. 329-354 : 342

26. Pseudosaltator , new genus ( Fig. 5 ).

Type species. Saltator rufiventris d’Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837.

Included species. Monospecific, includes only Pseudosaltator rufiventris .

Diagnosis. This genus is diagnosed by the specific characters of Saltator rufiventris d’Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837.

Etymology. The name is formed from the Greek ψευδής (false) and the generic name Saltator , alluding to the mistaken classification of this species in that genus. Its gender is masculine.

Comments. Several studies (Klicka et al. 2007; Barker et al. 2013; Burns et al. 2014) show that Saltator rufiventris is not closely related to other members of that genus. Burns et al. (2014) placed it within the subfamily Thraupinae as sister to two species of Dubusia with high support (PP = 1.0; ML bootstrap = 100%; Fig. 5 ). In addition, S. rufiventris is more similar in geographic range, plumage, and bill characteristics to Dubusia than it is to the other members of Saltator . The type species of the genus Saltator ( Tanagra maxima Statius Müller, 1776 , currently recognized as Saltator maximus ) belongs to the clade containing the rest of the saltators. Thus S. rufiventris must be assigned to a different genus. Unless S. rufiventris and the two species of Dubusia are merged into a broader Dubusia , a new generic name needs to be applied to S. rufiventris . Accordingly, we provide Pseudosaltator for this purpose.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Maximum clade credibility tree from the Bayesian analyses of Burns et al. (2014). Subfamily Thraupinae shown. Labeling and format as in Fig. 1.