Larvivora
Indian blue robin (Larvivora brunnea)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
Subfamily: Saxicolinae
Genus: Larvivora
Hodgson, 1837
Type species
Larvivora cyana[1]
Hodgson, 1837

Larvivora is a genus of small passerine birds belonging to the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae that occur in central and eastern Asia.

The species in this genus were all previously placed in other genera. A large molecular phylogenetic study published on 2010 found that the genera Luscinia and Erithacus as defined by Edward C. Dickinson in 2003 were not monophyletic.[2][3] The genus Larvivora with the type species Larvivora cyane was reinstated to accommodate a well-defined clade. Although the rufous-headed robin was not included in the phylogenetic study, it was moved to the resurrected genus as it is similar in structure, song and behaviour to the Indian blue robin and the Siberian blue robin.[4][5]

The genus Larvivora had been introduced by the British naturalist Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1837.[6][7] The word Larvivora comes from the Neo-Latin larva meaning caterpillar and -vorus meaning eating (vorace to devour).[8]

The genus includes the following 8 species:[4]

References

  1. ^ "Muscicapidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  2. ^ Dickinson, E.C., ed. (2003). The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World (3rd ed.). London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 978-0-7136-6536-9.
  3. ^ Sangster, G.; Alström, P.; Forsmark, E.; Olsson, U. (2010). "Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis of Old World chats and flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly at family, subfamily and genus level (Aves: Muscicapidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 57 (1): 380–392. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.07.008. PMID 20656044.
  4. ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2023). "Chats, Old World flycatchers". IOC World Bird List Version 13.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  5. ^ Dickinson, E.C.; Christidis, L. (2014). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2, Passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, U.K.: Aves Press. ISBN 978-0-9568611-2-2.
  6. ^ Hodgson, Brian Houghton (1837). "On three new genera or sub-genera of long-legged thrushes, with descriptions of their species". The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 6: 102.
  7. ^ Mayr, Ernst; Paynter, Raymond A. Jr. (1964). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 10. Vol. 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 33.
  8. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, United Kingdom: Christopher Helm. p. 219. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
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