Proposal (763) to South American Classification Committee

Recognize Myrmoderus eowilsoni as a species

Effect on SACC classification: Addition of a new species to the SACC list.

Background: Only discovered in the Cordillera Azul of central Peru in 2016, Moncrieff et al. (2017) formally described Myrmoderus eowilsoni to science in December of 2017. It is a very distinctive Thamnophilid, and the only member of Myrmoderus to be found in western South America. Sister to M. ferrugineus based on both morphology and molecular characters, it is readily distinguishable by plumage and voice. It is endemic to Peru, and probably to the Cordillera Azul range between the Huallaga and Ucayali rivers.

Recommendation: This seems like a pretty obvious situation. I recommend accepting M. eowilsoni as a new member of the South American avifauna.

Literature cited:

Moncrieff, A.E., O. Johnson, D. F. Lane, J. R. Beck, F. Angulo, and J. Fagan. 2017. A new species of antbird (Passeriformes: Thamnophilidae) from the Cordillera Azul, San Martin, Peru. Auk 135:114-126.

Dan Lane, 1 Jan 2018

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Comments from Stiles: "YES. M. eowilsoni is clearly a good species on geographical, morphological, genetic and vocal grounds."

Comments from Areta: "YES. A very cool discovery that was published at flash speed! Morphology, genetics and vocalizations converge to support the recognition of this wonderful bird. The sister relationship to the gorgeous Myrmoderus ferrugineus leaves no doubt on its generic allocation."

Comments from Zimmer: “YES. Multiple data sets (plumage, voice, genetic, distribution) confirm the distinctiveness of this newly discovered taxon, and the sister relationship to M. ferrugineus, which is clearly suggested on morphological grounds, is confirmed by molecular data, cementing its generic allocation.”

Comments from Jaramillo: “YES. A very exciting discovery.”

Comments from Claramunt: “YES. Clearly new species-level taxon.”

Comments from Pacheco: “YES. A remarkable discovery accompanied by a quick and rich description.”

Comments from Robbins: “YES, for recognizing Myrmoderus eowilsoni as a species – what an exciting discovery and kudos to the authors for publishing in such a timely manner!”