''Zimmerius'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bi ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Tyrannidae The tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) are a family of passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They are considered the largest family of birds known to exist in the world, with more than 400 species. They are the most diver ...

. The genus was erected by the American ornithologist

Melvin Alvah Traylor Jr. Melvin Alvah Traylor Jr. (December 16, 1915 – February 11, 2008) was an American ornithologist. He was the son of Chicago banker Melvin Alvah Traylor and Mrs. Dorothy Y. Traylor. Traylor was Lieutenant with the marines and served on Guadalcanal ...

in 1977 with the

golden-faced tyrannulet The golden-faced tyrannulet (''Zimmerius chrysops'') is a species of bird belonging to the family Tyrannidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests an ...

(''Zimmerius chrysops'') as the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

. The name ''Zimmerius'' was chosen to honour the American ornithologist

John Todd Zimmer John Todd Zimmer (February 28, 1889 in Bridgeport, Ohio – January 6, 1957 in White Plains, New York) was a leading American ornithologist. A graduate of University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he took an early interest in both entomology and ornithology. ...

(1889-1957) who specialised in the classification of Neotropical birds.

Species

The genus contains 15 species:

Species

References

Further reading