Helopsaltes
| Helopsaltes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Middendorff's grasshopper warbler (Helopsaltes ochotensis) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Locustellidae |
| Genus: | Helopsaltes Alström, Cibois, Irestedt, Zuccon, Gelang, Fjeldså, Andersen, Moyle, Pasquet & Olsson, 2018 |
Helopsaltes is a genus of passerine birds in the grassbird family Locustellidae.
A comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study of the grassbird family Locustellidae published in 2018 found that the genus Locustella consisted of two distinct clades. The genus was split and six species were moved to the newly described genus Helopsaltes with Pallas's grasshopper warbler (Helopsaltes certhiola) as the type species. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ἕλος/helos meaning "marshy ground" and ψάλτης/psaltis "a chanter".[1][2]
As well as the genetic separation, the species of Helopsaltes also differ markedly from Locustella in song structure, with varied, 'flowing' warbling songs as opposed to the repetitive and often metronomic insect- (particularly grasshopper)-like songs of Locustella species.[1] They are very similar to Locustella species in their cryptic camouflaged plumage, with no differing genus-wide characters; they also show a similar range of size (12–18 cm) to Locustella.[1]
The genus contains the following six species:[2]
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Sakhalin grasshopper warbler | Helopsaltes amnicola | Breeds on Sakhalin, the southern Kuril Islands, and Hokkaido. |
 | Gray's grasshopper warbler | Helopsaltes fasciolatus | Breeds in southern Siberia, northeastern China, and Korea; winters in southeast Asia. |
 | Marsh grassbird | Helopsaltes pryeri | China, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, and Russia. |
_I_IMG_2750.jpg) | Pallas's grasshopper warbler | Helopsaltes certhiola | Breeds in the eastern Palearctic from the Altai Mountains, Mongolia, and Transbaikalia to northeastern China; winters from India east to Indonesia, rare migrant in Sri Lanka. |
 | Styan's grasshopper warbler | Helopsaltes pleskei | Breeds in eastern Siberia to Korea, Kyushu, and the Izu Islands; wintering in South China. |
| Middendorff's grasshopper warbler | Helopsaltes ochotensis | Breeds in eastern Siberia to northern Japan, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the northern Kuril Islands. |
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Alström, P.; Cibois, A.; Irestedt, M.; Zuccon, D.; Gelang, M.; Fjeldså, J.; Andersen, M.J.; Moyle, R.G.; Pasquet, E.; Olsson, U. (2018). "Comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the grassbirds and allies (Locustellidae) reveals extensive non-monophyly of traditional genera, and a proposal for a new classification". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 127: 367–375. Bibcode:2018MolPE.127..367A. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.03.029. PMID 29625229. S2CID 4645834.
- 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2018). "Grassbirds, Donacobius, Malagasy warblers, cisticolas, allies". World Bird List Version 8.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
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