Dessonornis
Genus of birds
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dessonornis is a genus of birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae that are found in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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| Dessonornis | |
|---|---|
| |
| white-throated robin-chat (Dessonornis humeralis) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Muscicapidae |
| Genus: | Dessonornis Smith, 1836 |
| Type species | |
| Dessonornis humeralis | |
Taxonomy
The genus Dessonornis was introduced in 1836 by British ornithologist Andrew Smith to accommodate a single species, the white-throated robin-chat, which is therefore considered as the type species.[1][2] The name Dessonornis is a misspelling, Smith corrected it to Bessonornis in 1840.[3] The name combines the Ancient Greek bēssa meaning "glen" or "wooded valley" with ornis meaning "bird".[4] The spelling correction is not recognized by International Ornithologists' Union.[5]
Species in this genus was previously placed in Cossypha, while phylogenetic studies revealed that they are more closely related to Cichladusa and Xenocopsychus.[6] In the taxonomic revision to create monophyletic groups, Dessonornis was resurrected with the following species:[5]
- White-throated robin-chat, Dessonornis humeralis
- Cape robin-chat, Dessonornis caffer
- Archer's ground robin, Dessonornis archeri
- Olive-flanked ground robin, Dessonornis anomalus