A new genus for the Andean Green Pihas (Cotingidae)

The diverse Neotropical suboscine passerines account for more than a tenth of all avian species. Most radiations within this group have received little systematic scrutiny since the historically standard classifications of Hellmayr (Cory & Hellmayr 1924, 1925, 1927, Hellmayr 1929). Recent advances in phylogenetic analysis and molecular systematics have produced exciting new opportunities for understanding higher-level phylogenetic relationships, species limits and evolutionary history of the Neotropical suboscine clade. To maintain congruence between avian classification and developments in phylogenetic research, it is important to revise avian taxonomy to reflect new, well supported systematic findings. Often a traditional classification can be made phylogenetically meaningful with a minimum of changes: e.g. synonymizing a monotypic genus that renders another genus paraphyletic or ahistorical. Some results, however, require that new names be created to classify previously unrecognized clades accurately. The cotingas (Cotingidae) are a diverse Neotropical family. Although the limits of the family have been in dispute for years, they are currently recognized to include the traditional genera of Snow (1979), the plantcutters (Phytotoma) (Lanyon & Lanyon 1988, Prum et al. 2000), Sharpbill (Oxyruncus) (Sibley et al. 1985, Sibley & Ahlquist 1990, Prum et al. ZOOO), the tityras (Tityra) (Prum 1990, Prum et al. 2000) and the Schiffomis group of I’rum and Lanyon (Prum & Lanyon 1989, Prum et al. 2000) Schiffornis, Laniocera, Laniisoma, Pachyramphus, Xenopsaris and lodopleura. Snow (1982: 11 1) was first to suggest that the Andean green pihas subalaris and cryptolophus may be distantly related to the rest of the piha species within the traditional genus Lipaugus vociferans, unirufus, fuscocinereus, lanioides, and streptophorus. Subsequently, in a test of the monophyly of the cotingas, Prum (1990) documented that Lipaugus species were morphologically quite divergent. The hindlimb arteries of Lzpaugus vociferans revealed the derived heteromerous condition, typical of most cotingas and manaluns, in which the main arterial supply to the hindlimb is via the femoral artery (A. femoralis). In contrast, the main hindlimb arteries of both species of Andean green pihas, Lipaugus subalaris and L. cryptolophus, were ischiadic (A. ischiadica), an apparent reversal within cotingas to the primitive state found in most birds that also occurs in the cotinga genera Rupicola, Phoenicircus, Carpornis, Pipreola, Ampelioides and Oxyrums (Prum 1990). Subsequent research on cotinga syringeal morphology (Prum unpubl. data) has revealed additional phylogenetically informative morphological differences between the Andean green pihas and the other members of Lipaugus. Most recently, a phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences from a mitochondria1 protein coding gene, cytochrome b (Prum et al. ZOOO), further supports the conclusion that the genus Lipaugus as traditionally constituted (Hellmayr 1929, Snow 1979) is polyphyletic. In Prum (19903, I suggested that the species subalaris and qptolophus be removed from Lipaugus Boie 1828, but I placed them erroneously in the genus Lathria Swainson 1837, which had been applied to these piha species in some previous classifications (e.g. Sclater 1888). Subsequently, D. F. Stotz (in litt.) brought to my attention that the type Lathria Swainson 1837 is Muscicapa plumbea Lichtenstein = Muscicapa vociferans Wied which is also the type species of the genus Lipaugus. Stotz correctly observed that the genus Lathria is thus not available for subalaris and cryptolophus if the type of Lathria remains in Lipaugus. He further opined that another junior synonym of Lipaugus, Turdampelis Lesson 1844, was unavailable for a genus including subalaris and cryptolophus alone, because the type of Turdampelis is Turdampelis lanioides Lesson, which I suggest should be included within Lipaugus. Thus, no genus name is available to include the newly recognized clade of cryptolophus and subalaris, and there are no strong data to support their placement in any other available cotingid genus. Herein, I propose a new genus name to include the species of this distinct clade of Andean green pihas: