''Pittasoma'' is a genus of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s in the

gnateater The gnateaters are a bird family, Conopophagidae, consisting of ten small passerine species in two genera, which occur in South and Central America. The family was formerly restricted to the gnateater genus ''Conopophaga''; analysis of mtDNA cy ...

family. Its two members breed in subtropical or tropical moist forest in

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, specifically the Chocó, and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

and

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. Formerly placed in the family

Formicariidae Formicariidae is a family of smallish passerine birds of subtropical and tropical Central and South America known as formicariids. They are between in length, and are related to the antbirds, Thamnophilidae, and gnateaters, Conopophagidae. This ...

, they were reclassified to Conopophagidae following analysis of

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...

cytochrome ''b'' and

NADH dehydrogenase NADH dehydrogenase is an enzyme that converts nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) from its reduced form (NADH) to its oxidized form (NAD+). Members of the NADH dehydrogenase family and analogues are commonly systematically named using the for ...

subunit 2

sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is calle ...

s (Rice, 2005a,b). The association between the genus ''Pittasoma'' and the 'traditional' gnateaters is also supported by traits in their natural history,

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

, vocalizations (Rice, 2005a). They are round, short-tailed, and long-legged birds, 16–19 cm (6-7½ inches) in length, making them the largest members of the gnateater family. These

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

birds are quite upright when standing. Sexes differ in

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

, but

sexual dichromatism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

is less pronounced than in most members of the other gnateater genus, ''

Conopophaga ''Conopophaga'' is a genus of birds in the gnateater family. Its members are found in forest and woodland in South America. Taxonomy and species list The genus ''Conopophaga'' was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierr ...

''. They are insectivorous.

Species

References

*Rice, Nathan H. (2005a): Phylogenetic relationships of antpitta genera (Passeriformes: Formicariidae). ''

Auk An auk or alcid is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the murres, guillemots, auklets, puffins, and murrelets. The word "auk" is derived from Icelandic ''álka'', from Old Norse ''alka'' (a ...

'' 122(2): 673–683. nglish with Spanish abstract DOI:10.1642/0004-8038(2005)122 673:PROAGP.0.CO;2PDF fulltext
*Rice, Nathan H. (2005b): Further Evidence for Paraphyly of the Formicariidae (Passeriformes). ''

Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vult ...

'' 107(4): 910–915. nglish with Spanish abstractPDF fulltext
*Whitney, B.M. (2003) Family Conopophagidae (Gnateaters) Pp 732–748 in del Hoyo J., Elliott A. & Christie D.A. (2003) ''Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 8. Broadbills to Tapaculos'' Lynx Edicions, Barcelona {{Taxonbar, from=Q1059518 Bird genera