| Upucerthia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scale-throated earthcreeper (Upucerthia dumetaria) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Furnariidae |
| Genus: | Upucerthia I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1832 |
| Type species | |
| Upucerthia dumetaria[1] Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1832 | |
Upucerthia is agenus of bird in the familyFurnariidae.
Upucerthia is agenus ofbird in the familyFurnariidae. Established by French zoologistIsidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1832, it contains four species known as earthcreepers.[2]Genetic studies done in the early 2000s indicated that the genus as it stood at that time was highlypolyphyletic, with species representing four distinctclades.[3] As a result, a total of five former species were moved to othergenera. Therock earthcreeper and thestraight-billed earthcreeper were moved to the genusOchetorhynchus.[2][3][4] TheBolivian earthcreeper and theChaco earthcreeper were moved to the genusTarphonomus,[2][3][5] and thestriated earthcreeper was moved into themonotypic genusGeocerthia.[2][3]
The genus name is aportmanteau of the genus namesUpupa (for thehoopoes) andCerthia (for thetreecreepers).[6]
The following are species recognized by theInternational Ornithologists' Union as being members of this genus.[2]
ThePatagonian forest earthcreeper, described as a distinct species in 1900 but soon lumped as asubspecies of thescale-throated earthcreeper, was designated as a distinct species again in the early 2000s. This determination was based on differences in itsmorphology,song, breeding habitat, and migration patterns.[7]
