| Sholicola | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nilgiri blue robin (Sholicola major) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Muscicapidae |
| Genus: | Sholicola Robin et al., 2017 |
Sholicola is a genus ofbird in the familyMuscicapidae that was erected in 2017. They are commonly referred to assholakilis. The two species placed in this genusendemic to themontane grassland andcloud forest complex known assholas in southern India:
A third speciesSholicola ashambuensis described by the original authors is close toSholicola albiventris and may possibly be treated as a subspecies of the latter.
They were formerly placed in the genusBrachypteryx and thought to be "shortwings". Species in the genusBrachypteryx show strong sexual dimorphism and because of this misplacement, the two south Indian species were moved toMyiomela byPamela Rasmussen. Molecular phylogeny studies however showed these two species to be flycatchers that foraged close to the ground. A new genus had to be erected as the species are quite distinct from their sister generaNiltava,Cyornis andEumyias from which they diverged about 11 million years ago [(Sholicola is basal in the clade that contains it -Sholicola, (Cyornis, (Niltava, (Eumyias,Cyanoptila))) which is sister to another major clade that includesFicedula,Monticola,Saxicola,Luscinia,Tarsiger,Larvivora,Brachypteryx etc.].[1]
_I-Haryana_IMG_8045.jpg) | This article about anOld World flycatcher is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |