Dysithamnus is a genus of insectivorous passerine birds in the antbird family, Thamnophilidae. Species in this genus are known as antvireos.
Taxonomy The genus Dysithamnus was introduced by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis in 1847. The name combines the Ancient Greek words duō "to plunge" and thamnos "bush". The type species was subsequently designated as the spot-breasted antvireo.
A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2020 found that the genus Dysithamnus was not monophyletic. The spot-crowned antvireo (Dysithamnus puncticeps) and the streak-crowned antvireo (Dysithamnus striaticeps) were sister to a clade containing the remaining species in the genus Dysithamnus and the antwrens in the genus Herpsilochmus. A high resolution version of the phylogenetic tree in Figure 1 is available from the first author's website here.
The genus contains the following eight species:
Image Common name Scientific name Distribution Spot-breasted antvireo Dysithamnus sticothorax Atlantic Forest Plain antvireo Dysithamnus mentalis Central America and northern South America Streak-crowned antvireo Dysithamnus striaticeps Central America Spot-crowned antvireo Dysithamnus puncticeps northern Panama and Tumbes–Chocó–Magdalena Rufous-backed antvireo Dysithamnus xanthopterus southern Atlantic Forest White-streaked antvireo Dysithamnus leucostictus northern Andes Plumbeous antvireo Dysithamnus plumbeus Bahia forests Bicolored antvireo Dysithamnus occidentalis northern Andes
References