Myiothera variegata

LECROY, MARY & SLOSS, RICHARD, 2000, Type Specimens Of Birds In The American Museum Of Natural History. Part 3. Passeriformes: Eurylaimidae, Dendrocolaptidae, Furnariidae, Formicariidae, Conopophagidae, And Rhinocryptidae, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2000 (257), pp. 1-88 : 47-48

Myiothera variegata (Lichtenstein ms.) Wied, 1831: 1086

(no locality given).

Now Herpsilochmus rufimarginatus scapularis (Wied,

1831). See Allen, 1889b: 251, and Ridgely and Tudor,

1994: 262.

SYNTYPES: Allen (1889b: 251) listed 4 Wied specimens as types of Wied’s taxa Myiothera scapularis and “ Myiothera variegata ”. These were at that time considered synonyms of the monotypic Herpsilochmus rufimarginatus. Unfortunately, there were several undetected errors in the published museum numbers that make Allen’s remarks hard to interpret, and all 4 specimens are faded, with the yellow pigment gone. Below we list the 4 specimens with their label data and then discuss them.

COMMENTS: AMNH 5337, in female plumage. This specimen was misidentified on the Wied label as a male Formicivora melanogastra Spix and Myiothera fuliginosa Wied (= Lichtenstein), both names being synonyms of Myrmotherula a. axillaris (Cory and Hellmayr, 1924: 149) . Undoubtedly, at some point labels became switched, but we are unable to trace such a switch now. The specimen is Herpsilochmus rufimarginatus and probably is one of Wied’s types. In Wied’s (1831: 1083) description of Myiothera scapularis he had at least a male, a female, and a young male. Allen had considered AMNH 5337 to be a female of M. variegata , but it might also be an immature male of his M. scapularis .

AMNH 5378 is in worn female plumage with only one tail feather present. Marked female by Allen, it has no original Wied label and was originally probably tied together with one of the adult males. It was apparently separated from AMNH 5379 (Allen, 1889b: 251).

AMNH 5379 is a male in worn plumage. The original Wied label lists the following names: Formicivora scapularis Licht. Wied and Herpsilochmus rufimarginatus Temm. Allen (1889b: 251) considered this specimen to be Wied’s type of M. variegata because it has the black markings on the back described for this taxon. Because both AMNH 5378 and 5379 are in worn plumage, they probably are the two that were tied together.

AMNH 5380 (not 5280 of Allen) is a male. This specimen is not in worn plumage but is missing the tail entirely. The original Wied label lists the following names: Formicivora scapularis W., Myiothera rufimarginata Lich., and Herpsilochmus rufimarg. Cab.

Wied (1831: 1088) noted that although M scapularis and M. variegata were very similar, the slight differences in measurements and color were sufficient to warrant naming both. None of the original labels were marked with the name variegata , and it seems impossible to determine at this time whether Hellmayr (1924: 178) have put both in synonymy with H. r. rufimarginatus . However, H. r. scapularis is now recognized (Peters, 1951: 204), and it seems best to consider H. r. variegata a synonym of the latter unless further information is forthcoming.

Myiothera scapularis and M. variegata both are apparently names present in Lichtenstein’s manuscript, but they were not in his 1823 published version. Thus, Wied’s use constitutes a formal introduction of the names. Wied’s labels use the name Formicivora scapularis , but apparently the name was never proposed in this form.

Formicivora virgata Lawrence Formicivora virgata Lawrence, 1863a: 182 (Isthmus of

Panama).

Now Microrhopias quixensis virgata (Lawrence, 1863) .

See Wetmore, 1972: 180.

SYNTYPES: AMNH 43445, adult male, and AMNH 43446, adult female, collected on the line of the old Panama railroad, probably near Lion Hill, Isthmus of Panama, Panama, in 1862, by James McLeannon. From the George N. Lawrence Collection.

COMMENTS: For a discussion of this locality, see Dendrornis nana .

Microrhopias quixensis intercedens Zimmer Microrhopias quixensis intercedens Zimmer, 1932c: 5

(Sarayacu, Río Ucayali, Peru).

Now Microrhopias quixensis intercedens Zimmer, 1932 .

See Pinto, 1978: 373.

HOLOTYPE: AMNH 238202 , adult female, collect- ed at Sarayacu , 06°44′S, 75°06′W, Río Ucayali valley, Loreto, Peru, on 17 July 1927, by Ramón and Alfonso Olalla.

COMMENTS: The locality at which the Olalla brothers were collecting on 17 July is described in their itinerary as their “third camp.” It was on the left bank of the Ucayali 2 hours by canoe from their “first camp,” which was on the left bank “opposite the old village of Sarayacu.” The country around this camp was high and flat and did not flood unless the river was very high.

Formicivora consobrina microsticta Berlepsch Formicivora consobrina microsticta Berlepsch, 1908: 157 (Approuague [River]).

Now Microrhopias quixensis microsticta (Berlepsch, 1908) . See Ridgely and Tudor, 1994: 264.

HOLOTYPE: AMNH 490922 , adult male, collected on the Approuague River , 04°39′N, 51°58′W, French Guiana, on 16 December 1902, by George K. Cherrie (no. 12736). From the George K. Cherrie and Benjamin T. Gault collection via the Rothschild

Collection.

Microrhopias grisea hondae Chapman Microrhopias grisea hondae Chapman, 1914c: 616 (Chicoral (alt. 1800 ft), upper Magdalena Valley , Colombia). Now Formicivora grisea hondae ( Chapman , 1914). See Ridgely and Tudor , 1994: 299. HOLOTYPE: AMNH 111914 , adult female, collect- ed at Chicoral, 1800 ft, 04°13′N, 74°59′W, Coello River, Tolima, Colombia, on 8 October 1911, by Arthur A. Allen and Leo E. Miller (no. 752).

Formicivora cano-fumosus Cherrie

Formicivora cano-fumosus Cherrie, 1909: 387 (Las Barrancas, Orinoco River, Venezuela).

Now Formicivora grisea intermedia Cabanis, 1847. See Cory and Hellmayr, 1924: 188, and Peters, 1951: 207. HOLOTYPE: AMNH 177330 , adult male, collected at Barrancas , 08°42′N, 62°11′W, Orinoco River,

Monagas, Venezuela, on 2 August 1907, by George

K. Cherrie (no. 15186). From the Museum of the

Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (no. 5107).

Formicivora tobagensis Dalmas Formicivora tobagensis Dalmas, 1900: 141 (Island of Tobago).

Now Formicivora grisea tobagensis Dalmas, 1900. See

Ridgely and Tudor, 1994: 299.

LECTOTYPE: AMNH 490841, adult female, collect- ed on Tobago Island, West Indies, on 26 November 1898. The number 54 is on a small separate tag. From the Dalmas Museum via the Rothschild Collection.

COMMENTS: Hartert (1922: 393) designated this specimen the lectotype. The original description was based on two birds. The paralectotype is AMNH 490840, adult male, collected on Tobago, on 19 November 1898, by Eugene André, according to the Rothschild label. The number 8 is on a small tag. Dalmas did not mention the collector, but because the field tags are alike, André probably collected both birds.

Formicivora orenocensis Hellmayr Formicivora orenocensis Hellmayr, 1904: 54 (Altagracia, Orinoco) .

Now Formicivora grisea orenocensis Hellmayr, 1904 . See Ridgely and Tudor, 1994: 299.

HOLOTYPE: AMNH 490791 , adult male, collected at Altagracia , 07°52′N, 65°33′W, upper Río Orinoco, Bolívar, Venezuela, on 5 November 1897, by George K. Cherrie (no. 8472). From the Rothschild Collection.