First complete description of nest, eggs, and nestlings of the Squamate Antbird, Myrmoderus squamosus (Aves: Thamnophilidae)

By

Fernandes Perrella, Daniel
Piacentini, Vitor Q.
Queijo Zima, Paulo Victor
Biagolini-Jr, Carlos
Ribeiro-Silva, Lais
Francisco, Mercival Roberto

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019-8-2

Original Publication

Nature conservation

Volume

36

Pages

1--5

Subjects

Myrmeciza , nest type , Phylogeny , taxonomy

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers 2012-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zoologia.36.e29719

 

Abstract

Even though nest architecture has been useful for phylogenetic inferences among the Thamnophilidae (Aves: Passeriformes), the nests of only three out of five species ofMyrmoderus(Ridgway, 1909) are known to science. Here we describe the nests, eggs, and nestling of the Squamate AntbirdMyrmoderussquamosus(Pelzeln, 1868). Two nests were bulky bottom-supported cups, measuring 7.3 and 12 cm in maximum outside diameter, with a noticeably smaller egg cup, and they were placed within the crown of short, broad-leafed plants. Eggs were short-oval, with chalky white background color, and purple blotches and streaks more concentrated in the large end. One nestling was dark reddish grey, with bluish white feet, pinkish gray tarsi, and a blackish bill with bright yellow rictal flanges. In face of the great diversity of nest types found among the Thamnophilidae, we concluded that the nest ofM.squamosuswas similar to those of other congeners, giving support to this currently phylogenetically-defined genus.