Taxonomic evaluation of the Grallaria rufula (Rufous Antpitta) complex (Aves: Passeriformes: Grallariidae) distinguishes sixteen species
Author
Isler, Morton L.
Author
Chesser, Terry
Author
Robbins, Mark B.
Author
Cuervo, Andrés M.
Author
Cadena, Carlos Daniel
Author
Hosner, Peter A.
text
Zootaxa
2020
2020-07-21
4817
1
1
74
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.4817.1.1
1175-5326
3954698
7CBDB6A9-9AF9-495F-A55A-83BF36A4934D
Grallaria gravesi
Isler, Chesser, Robbins & Hosner
,
new species
Graves’s Antpitta
Includes population designated
obscura
1
in the analysis.
Diagnosis.
Upperparts dark reddish yellow-brown; underparts paler, palest on belly and undertail coverts; pale buff eye-ring. Both long songs and short songs are distinguished from those of all other populations except
G. oneilli
and
G. obscura
by their frequency modulated notes, delivered in a series in long songs and in pairs in short songs (
Fig. 10
). The pace of long songs of
G. gravesi
is faster than that of
G. obscura
but slower than that of
G. oneilli
. Intervals between notes of the long song of
G. gravesi
increase and then decrease in duration, whereas intervals of the
G. oneilli
long song remain nearly constant, and those of
G. obscura
increase in duration throughout. Two additional characters distinguish vocalizations of
G. gravesi
from
G. obscura
although not from
G. oneilli
. Notes in the second half of long songs of
G
.
gravesi
and
G
.
oneilli
rise in frequency, whereas those of
G
.
obscura
decline. In addition, initial notes of short songs of
G. gravesi
and
G. oneilli
come to a single frequency peak, whereas initial notes of
G. obscura
include three peaks (rarely two).
FIGURE 10
. Songs of
Grallaria gravesi
: (A) long song, Bosque Unchog, Huánuco, Peru (Valqui ML236895); (B) short song, 34 km ENE of Huánuco, Huánuco (Cáceres ML168656).
Distribution.
Endemic to
Peru
on east Andean slope in Amazonas and
San Martín
south and east of the Río Marañón, south to
Huánuco
north of Río Huallaga,
2400–3900 m
.
Holotype
.
Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science
(
LSUMZ
) 104488, tissue number
LSUMZ
B–809.
Adult
female mist-netted in isolated patch of temperate forest and prepared by
S. Allen-Stotz
on
5 August 1981
at
Puerto del Monte
, ca.
30 km
NE Los Alisos
,
San Martín
,
Peru
(approximately
77° 28’ W
,
07° 32’ S
,
elevation
3250 m
).
Description of
holotype
.
Adult female. Overall plumage of upperparts, including crown, auriculars, nape, back, and uppertail coverts, dark reddish yellow-brown (7.5YR 4/4), shading to underparts color in malar area; eyering pale buff. Rectrices and remiges dark reddish yellow-brown (7.5YR 4/4), primaries edged paler. Throat and breast reddish yellow-brown (7.5YR 5/8), paler on belly and undertail coverts with center of belly whitish; flank coloration intermediate between upperparts and breast. Soft part colors: iris brown, bill slate, tarsi/feet blue-gray. Ovarian mass 5 x
4 mm
; skull ossified; mass
33.2 g
; insect parts in stomach.
Measurements of
holotype
.
Bill length
10.58 mm
, bill width
4.77 mm
, wing length
81.66 mm
, tail length
45.40 mm
, tarsus length
41.69 mm
.
Paratopotype.
LSUMZ 104491 (female).
Paratypes
.
LSUMZ 74099
(male)
,
LSUMZ 74104
(female)
,
ANSP 176470
(male)
,
FMNH 296697
(female) (specimen photographs
App.
6,
Fig. A
24)
.
Etymology.
We are pleased to name this species for our friend and colleague Dr. Gary R. Graves, whose ornithological contributions include the field work and subsequent analysis that resulted in the recognition of
G. blakei
. After describing
G. blakei
, Gary Graves
embarked on a study of the taxonomic issues presented by the
G. rufula
complex that culminated in this paper, to which he has provided support.
Remarks.
Long songs and short songs of
G. gravesi
and its sister species,
G. oneilli
and
G. obscura
, are unique in the complex and set them apart from all other populations at the species level. Although fewer vocal differences distinguish
G. gravesi
and
G. oneilli
than the substantial vocal differences distinguishing
G. obscura
from its sisters, all three taxa are supported at the species level by plumage distinctions. Comparing plumages of the three taxa, the lighter coloration of the underparts of the geographically intermediate
G. oneilli
were separable in blind tests from the browner
G. gravesi
and
G. obscura
. The mtDNA genetic distance was greatest between
G. gravesi
and
G. oneilli
(~5%) and was least between
G. gravesi
and
G. obscura
(~3%), but the greatest number of vocal differences were found between
G. obscura
and
G
.
gravesi
, as well as between
G
.
obscura
and
G. oneilli
.