''Upucerthia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of bird in the family Furnariidae.

Taxonomy and etymology

''Upucerthia'' is a

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family Furnariidae. Established by French zoologist

Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (; 16 December 1805 – 10 November 1861) was a French zoologist and an authority on deviation from normal structure. In 1854 he coined the term ''éthologie'' (ethology). Biography He was born in Paris, the ...

in 1832, it contains four species known as earthcreepers. Genetic studies done in the early 2000s indicated that the genus as it stood at that time was highly

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

, with species representing four distinct

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

s. As a result, a total of five former species were moved to other

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

. The

rock earthcreeper The rock earthcreeper (''Ochetorhynchus andaecola'') is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina and Bolivia, and as a vagrant in Chile.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bona ...

and the

straight-billed earthcreeper The straight-billed earthcreeper (''Ochetorhynchus ruficaudus'') is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Taxonomy and systematics The straight ...

were moved to the genus ''

Ochetorhynchus ''Ochetorhynchus'' is a genus of earthcreeper (disambiguation), earthcreepers, birds in the family Furnariidae. They are found in open to semi-open habitats in Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. The genus contains the following species: * Roc ...

''. The Bolivian earthcreeper and the Chaco earthcreeper were moved to the genus '' Tarphonomus'', and the striated earthcreeper was moved into the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus '' Geocerthia''. The genus name is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the genus names '' Upupa'' (for the

hoopoe Hoopoes () are colourful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive "Crest (feathers), crown" of feathers which can be raised or lowered at will. Two living and one extinct species are recognized, though for many y ...

s) and ''

Certhia '' Certhia '' is the genus of birds containing the typical treecreepers, which makes up the family Certhiidae. The typical treecreepers occur in many wooded parts of the North Temperate Zone. They do not normally migrate other than for local m ...

'' (for the treecreepers).

List of species

The following are species recognized by the

International Ornithologists' Union The International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) is an international organization for the promotion of ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", ...

as being members of this genus. * Scale-throated earthcreeper (''Upucerthia dumetaria'') * Patagonian forest earthcreeper (''Upucerthia saturatior'') * White-throated earthcreeper (''Upucerthia albigula'') * Buff-breasted earthcreeper (''Upucerthia validirostris'') ** Plain-breasted earthcreeper (''Upucerthia validirostris jelskii'') The Patagonian forest earthcreeper, described as a distinct species in 1900 but soon lumped as a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the scale-throated earthcreeper, was designated as a distinct species again in the early 2000s. This determination was based on differences in its

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

Taxonomy and etymology

List of species

References

Notes

Sources