Myrmothera is a genus of birds belonging to the antpitta family Grallariidae that are found in Middle and South America.
Taxonomy The genus was established in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot. The type species was subsequently designated by Philip Sclater in 1890 as the thrush-like antpitta. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek μυρμος/murmos meaning "ant" with -θηρας/-thḗras meaning "hunter".
The genus contains 6 species: White-lored antpitta (Myrmothera fulviventris) (formerly in Hylopezus) – west Amazonia Amazonian antpitta (Myrmothera berlepschi) (formerly in Hylopezus) – south Amazonia Thicket antpitta (Myrmothera dives) (formerly in Hylopezus) – east Honduras to west Colombia Tepui antpitta (Myrmothera simplex) – tepuis in south Venezuela, west Guyana, and north Brazil Thrush-like antpitta (Myrmothera campanisona) – Amazonia Tapajos antpitta (Myrmothera subcanescens) – central south Amazonian Brazil
Some other taxonomies, including those followed by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System and Handbook of Birds of the World, consider the Tapajos antpitta to be a subspecies of the thrush-like antpitta. Based on DNA analysis, the genus is considered to be a sister taxon to the genus Hylopezus.
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