Proposal (393) to South American Classification Committee
Almost all
classifications treat U. dumetaria as
a single, polytypic species. Here is
what our current Note says:
“4b.
Esteban (1951) provided rationale for
considering the subspecies saturatior a separate species from Upucerthia
dumetaria, but this has not been followed by subsequent authors. Areta and Pearman (2009), however, provided
evidence of parapatry without intergradation as well as documented differences
in song, bare parts colors, morphology, plumage, habitat, and migratory
patterns that validate Esteban’s (1951) original assessment. SACC proposal badly
needed.”
Here is the Abstract
from Areta and Pearman’s paper:
Abstract The Patagonian Forest Earthcreeper (Upucerthia
saturatior) is a distinctive furnariid that inhabits the Patagonian forests
of central-western Argentina and adjacent Chile within the Nothofagus Center of
Endemism. After its description as a species in 1900, U. saturatior was quickly subsumed, without comment or study, as a
subspecies of the Scale-throated Earthcreeper (U. dumetaria), a treatment followed by most subsequent authors. On
the basis of an apparent geographical cline within U. dumetaria and a reanalysis of the morphology and plumage of
reported intergrades between U. dumetaria
and U. saturatior, there is no
evidence of intergradation between these taxa. Upucerthia saturatior differs
from U. dumetaria by its song
(“p-p-tirik-tirik-tirik-tirik-tirik-tiruk” vs. “pli-pli-pli-pli-pli . . .”),
which is also three times faster in dumetaria, call (“pep” vs. “keep”),
morphology (smaller and darker with a short black bill vs. larger and paler
with a long brown bill), distinctive tail pattern, breeding habitat (forest
borders vs. shrubby steppe and open highland habitats), and migration patterns
(trans-Andean vs. north–south). These differences exceed those between U. jelskii and U. albigula and are far greater than those between U. jelskii and U. validirostris; they overwhelmingly support ranking U. saturatior as a full species. The
existence of a forest-dwelling species of Upucerthia
parapatric to an open-country Upucerthia
provides an opportunity for testing the role of habitat shift between dry
exposed habitats and forest habitats (and vice versa) during speciation.
Because
you should all have a pdf (if not, let me know), I won’t go over all the
evidence in detail. Rather, all I will
do here is emphasize that they refuted previous reports of intergradation,
showed that the two are nearly parapatric (at least as close as 25 km, but
likely closer) without any sign of gene flow, showed that they are restricted
to different habitats in the area of near-parapatry, and showed that “U. d. dumetaria/hypoleuca responded strongly to voices of widely distant
populations of the same species while ignoring the voices of closer populations
of saturatior.”
Analysis
and Recommendation: As the authors indicated, there is no
evidence that would support treating these two taxa as conspecific. Further, as the authors correctly noted, the
differences between these two are of the same degree as those between U. albigula and U. jelskii and actually below the level between the latter and U. validirostris. Therefore, I strongly support a YES vote on
this one.
English
name: Here’s what Areta and Pearman wrote:
“In the absence of an adequate English vernacular
name for U. saturatior, we propose
“Patagonian Forest Earthcreeper,” to highlight one of its most distinctive
ecological features that instantly distinguishes it from the parapatric U. dumetaria.”
I personally
find this name a little cumbersome, but we can start with it, and if anyone has
a better name, do a proposal.
Lit Cit
ARETA, J. I.,
AND M. PEARMAN. 2009. Natural history,
morphology, evolution, and taxonomic status of the earthcreeper Upucerthia saturatior (Furnariidae) from
the Patagonian forests of South America. Condor 111: 135-149.
Van Remsen, March 2009
Comments
from Cadena:
“YES. Wish
we had similarly solid data sets for other decisions on species.”
Comments from Nores:
“YES, especialmente (o sólo)
por las vocalizaciones. Lo que no estoy de acuerdo es llamarla “Patagonian
Forest Earthcreeper” porque ante todo Upucerthia
saturatior no es una especie del
bosque sino que habita la zona de
transición entre la estepa patagónica y el bosque en Argentina y en el
matorral, donde no hay árboles, en Chile central. Aunque en el norte de su
distribución en Chile es aparentemente migratoria, en la parte sur sería
residente de acuerdo a lo expresado por Goodall et al. (1957). Además, los bosques
que se encuentran en el sur de Chile y Argentina no son patagónicos sino que
pertenecen biogeográficamente a la
Provincia Subantártica (Cabrera y Willink 1973) por lo que el nombre correcto
sería “Subantarctic Forest ” o en todo caso “Nothofagus forest”.”
Comments from Zimmer:
“YES. Multiple data sets (vocal, morphological,
habitat, migration patterns) all support this move.”
Comments
from Jaramillo:
“YES – The data are solid, using different datasets and unambiguous. The only
problem I have with the proposal is the English name for this beast. Patagonian
Forest Earthcreeper is just too much information -- it is not quite a Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed
Sparrow, but nearly there. Why not just call it Forest Earthcreeper and leave
it at that? The fact that it uses forested habitats is unique in Upucerthia is it not? Patagonian
Forestcreeper would be even better, but I am clever enough to know that that
one has no chance at all…tongue in cheek…but only slightly.”
Comments
from Schulenberg:
“YES. "Patagonian Forest Earthcreeper" is not a helpful name,
however. Either "Patagonian Earthcreeper" or "Forest
Earthcreeper" would be fine (and shorter). "Forestcreeper" is
kind of cute (and doesn't need the "Patagonian," until there is a
second species of forestcreeper) but to me in conjures up images of something like
a Premnornis or Premnoplex, rather than of an Upucerthia.”
Comments from Stiles:
“YES.
A solid, multidimensional dataset, duly published. No problem. Under the
circumstances, “Forest “ (Woodland?) Earthcreeper would seem a reasonable and digestible
English name.”
Comments from Pacheco: “YES. Os múltiplos dados publicados
corroboram, com sobras, a proposta.”