Typical Antbirds (Thamnophilidae) - HBW 8

White-shouldered Antshrike (Thamnophilus aethiops)

French: Batara à épaulettes blanches German: Perlschulter-Ameisenwürger Spanish: Batará Hombroblanco

Taxonomy: Thamnophilus æthiops P. L. Sclater, 1858, Río Napo, Napo, Ecuador.
Forms a superspecies with T. unicolor. A number of diagnosable races, geographically separated by Amazonian rivers, may be full species; molecular and other analyses, including of vocalizations, as well as investigation of possible intergradation at headwaters of rivers, are needed. Races juruanus and kapouni appear to intergrade. Ten subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

  • wetmorei Meyer de Schauensee, 1945 - foothill region in SE Colombia (W Meta S to E Cauca and W Putumayo).
  • aethiops P. L. Sclater, 1858 - foothill region in E Ecuador and N Peru (N of R Marañón).
  • polionotus Pelzeln, 1868 - S Venezuela (Amazonas, SE Bolívar), extreme E Colombia (E Guainía, E Vaupés), and NW Brazil (N Roraima, and R Negro in upper drainage and on W bank of lower stretches S to R Solimões).

     See all 10 subspecies
  • wetmorei Meyer de Schauensee, 1945 - foothill region in SE Colombia (W Meta S to E Cauca and W Putumayo).
  • aethiops P. L. Sclater, 1858 - foothill region in E Ecuador and N Peru (N of R Marañón).
  • polionotus Pelzeln, 1868 - S Venezuela (Amazonas, SE Bolívar), extreme E Colombia (E Guainía, E Vaupés), and NW Brazil (N Roraima, and R Negro in upper drainage and on W bank of lower stretches S to R Solimões).
  • kapouni Seilern, 1913 - E Peru (S of R Marañón and R Amazon), extreme W Brazil (SW Amazonas E to R Juruá) and N Bolivia (Pando S to La Paz and Cochabamba).
  • juruanus H. von Ihering, 1905 - SW Amazonian Brazil between R Juruá and R Purus.
  • injunctus J. T. Zimmer, 1933 - Amazonian Brazil between R Purus and R Madeira.
  • punctuliger Pelzeln, 1868 - Amazonian Brazil between R Madeira and R Tapajós (S to Rondônia and NW Mato Grosso) and extreme NE Bolivia (NE Santa Cruz).
  • atriceps Todd, 1927 - Amazonia in S Pará & NE Mato Grosso (between R Tapajós & R Tocantins).
  • incertus Pelzeln, 1868 - Pará S of R Amazon (E of R Tocantins) and NW Maranhão.
  • distans Pinto, 1954 - NE Brazil (coastal Pernambuco and Alagoas).
  • Least Concern
  • male El Para Reserve, Archidona, Napo Province, Ecuador
    DusanB 18 October 2009 15 weeks ago 2
  • two songs El Para Reserve, Archidona, Napo Province, Ecuador
    DusanB 18 October 2009 14 weeks ago 4
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