Xenops

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Subsectio: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Infraclassis: Aves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Tyranni
Infraordo: Tyrannides
Parvordo: Furnariida
Superfamilia: Furnarioidea

Familia: Furnariidae
Genus: Xenops
Species: X. minutus – X. rutilans – X. tenuirostris
Name

Xenops Illiger, 1811
Typus

Turdus minutus Sparrman, 1788 = Xenops minutus

Synonyms

Neops Vieillot, 1816
Anecorhamphus Billberg, 1828
Zenops Swainson, 1836 [variation]

References
Primary references

Illiger, J.K.W. 1811. Prodromus systematis mammalium et avium additis terminis zoographicis utriusque classis, eorumque versione germanica. C. Salfield: Berolini. xviii + 302 pp. BHL Reference page. Original description p.213 BHL

Xenops is a genus in the bird family Furnariidae, the ovenbirds. The genus comprises three species of xenops, all of which are found in Mexico, Central America and South America, particularly in tropical rain forests.

They are small birds with a longish tail, a laterally flattened bill with an upturned tip (except in the slender-billed xenops), brown back and buff or rufous wing stripe. They forage for insects on bark, rotting stumps or bare twigs, moving mechanically in all directions on the trunk like a woodcreeper, but without using the tail as a prop.

Together with the distinct great xenops (Megaxenops parnaguae), this genus forms the tribe Xenopini, which based on some recent studies belongs in the woodcreeper and xenops subfamily Dendrocolaptinae,[1] while others have found them to be part of the "traditional" ovenbirds.[2] A study from 2013 found that they should be a family distinct from both.[3]
Species

Formerly, the rufous-tailed xenops was placed in this genus, but it has been moved to the monotypic Microxenops. The following species remain in the genus Xenops:

Slender-billed xenops, Xenops tenuirostris
Plain xenops, Xenops minutus
Streaked xenops, Xenops rutilans

References

Fjeldså, J., M. Irestedt, & P. G. P. Ericson (2005). Molecular data reveal some major adaptational shifts in the early evolution of the most diverse avian family, the Furnariidae. Journal of Ornithology 146: 1–13.
Moyle, R. G., R. T. Chesser, R. T. Brumfield, J. G. Tello, D. J. Marchese, & J. Cracraft (2009). Phylogeny and phylogenetic classification of the antbirds, ovenbirds, woodcreepers, and allies (Aves: Passeriformes: infraorder Furnariides). Cladistics 25: 386-405.

Ohlson, J; Irestedt, M; Ericson, P; Fjeldså, J (2013). "Phylogeny and classification of the New World suboscines (Aves, Passeriformes)". Zootaxa. 3613 (1): 1–35.

ffrench, Richard (1991). A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd ed.). Comstock Publishing. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2.
Hilty, Steven L (2003). Birds of Venezuela. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5.