A genus-level classification of the family Thraupidae (Class Aves: Order Passeriformes)
Author
Burns, Kevin J.
Author
Unitt, Philip
Author
Mason, Nicholas A.
text
Zootaxa
2016
4088
3
329
354
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.4088.3.2
fcf25fb0-17d2-4892-bd42-2dffdb549763
1175-5326
266311
201C6F0F-D061-427D-96A2-50879D46D32D
11. Poospizinae, new subfamily (
Fig. 3
)
Type genus.
Poospiza
Cabanis, 1847
.
Included genera.
Cnemoscopus
Bangs & Penard, 1919
,
Compsospiza
Berlepsch, 1893
,
Cypsnagra
Lesson, 1831
,
Donacospiza
Cabanis, 1851
,
Hemispingus
Cabanis, 1851
,
Nephelornis
Lowery & Tallman, 1976
,
Piezorina
Lafresnaye, 1843
,
Poospiza
Cabanis, 1847
,
Pyrrhocoma
Cabanis, 1851
,
Thlypopsis
Cabanis, 1851
,
Urothraupis
Taczanowski & Berlepsch, 1885
,
Xenospingus
Cabanis, 1867
.
Diagnosis. We do not know any morphological characters that unite this diverse group. Instead, we have identified seven unreversed molecular synapomorphies across four genes. These are, for ND2: C1003A; for ACO1: A768G; for MBI2: G110A and T190C; for RAG1: T253C, C568G and A1984G. Cladistically, we define this subfamily as the descendants of the common ancestor of
Xenospingus concolor
and
Poospiza melanoleuca
.
Comments. This subfamily name was originally used by Wolters (1980), but as he provided no description it is there a
nomen nudum.
Although Burns
et al.
(2014) described this subfamily, they failed to explicitly designate Poospizinae as a new subfamily name. Here we correct this omission and indicate Poospizinae as a new subfamily.
The genus names used within this subfamily require extensive revision. In particular, the large genera
Hemispingus
Cabanis, 1851
, and
Poospiza
Cabanis, 1847
, are polyphyletic with respect to each other and with respect to eight other genera (
Fig. 3
). Thus, we make recommendations 12 to 20 below to bring the classification of this subfamily into alignment with the topology of our phylogenetic tree.