From Opus

Genus: Chaetops

[edit] Description

Three species of Rock-jumpers. The genus is endemic to southern Africa.

[edit] Taxonomy

The Clements Checklist² places Chaetops in the family Timaliidae. However, C. frenatus and C. aurantius are now considered to be more closely related to the rockfowl (genus Picathartes), and have been placed in the monogeneric family Chaetopidae. Molecular evidence indicates that this family diverged from the main Passerine tree about 45 million years ago, before the divergence of the Passerida into the superfamilies Muscicapoidea, Sylvioidea and Passeroidea^1,3.

On the other hand, despite structral similarities, molecular evidence suggests that the Damara Rock-jumper or Rockrunner is not closely related to the Rufous Rock-jumper and Orange-breasted Rock-jumper, but is related to the Cape Grassbird Sphenoeacus afer in the Sylviidae^1,3.

As Opus follows the taxonomic treatment of Clements², the three species remain in the family Timaliidae for now.

[edit] References

1. Beresford P, Barker FK, Ryan PG & Crowe TM. 2005. African endemics span the tree of songbirds (Passeri): molecular systematics of several evolutionary ‘enigmas’. Proc. R. Soc. B 272, 849–858.
2. Clements JF. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2008. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019
3. Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ & Ryan PG (eds) 2005. Robert's Birds of Southern Africa, 7th edition. John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town, South Africa. ISBN 0620340533