Northern Anteater-Chat

SCI Name:  Myrmecocichla aethiops
Protonym:  Myrmecocichla aethiops Mus.Hein. 1 p.8
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Muscicapidae / Myrmecocichla
Taxonomy Code:  noacha1
Type Locality:  Senegal.
Author:  Cabanis
Publish Year:  1851
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

MYRMECOCICHLA
(Muscicapidae; Ϯ Southern Anteater Chat M. formicivora) Gr. μυρμηξ murmēx, μυρμηκος murmēkos  ant; κιχλη kikhlē  thrush; "Le MOTTEUX FOURMILIER, Œnanthe formicivora, Vieill.   ...   Le nom de fourmilier que M. Levaillant lui a imposé, vient de ce qu'il se tient plus particulièrement dans les plaines où les fourmis élèvent de petites monticules, sur le haut desquelles il aime à se percher; il se nourrit aussi de leurs larves." (Vieillot 1818); "Gen. MYRMECOCICHLA nov. gen. *) Ameisenschmätzer.    52. 1. M. formicivora Nob. —  Traquet fourmillier Le Vaill. tab. 186.87.  Sylvia formicivora Vieill. Encycl. méth. No. 210.   ...   *) Von μυρμηξ, Ameise; Kιχλη, Drossel;  der gebognere Schnabel, die kürzern nicht zugespitzten Flügel und die viel stärkeren kräftigeren Beine mit höheren Läufen und stärker entwickelten Nägeln sind für sich schon genügende Unterschiede dieser Gruppe von Monticola.  Als weitere Arten gehören hierher: 1) M. aethiops Nob. Turdus aethiops Licht. Mus. Berol. vom Senegal.   ...   2) M. nigra Nob. Saxicola nigra (Vieill.) Traquet Commandeur Le Vaill. Ois. d'Afrique tab. 189." (Cabanis 1853); "Myrmecocichla Cabanis, 1850 [= 1853], Mus. Hein., 1, p. 8. Type, by subsequent designation (Gray, 1855, Cat. Gen. Birds Brit. Mus., p. 35), Oenanthe formicivora Vieillot." (Ripley in Peters 1964, X, 115).
Synon. Dromolaea.

aethiops
Gr. Αιθιοψ Aithiops  Ethiopian, negro, blackened  < αιθω aithō  to burn; ωψ ōps, ωπος ōpos  face.
● ex “Coucal Nègre” of Levaillant 1807, pl. 222 (?syn. Centropus menbeki, ?syn. Centropus bernsteini).
● ex “Turdus aethiops” of Lichtenstein MS (Myrmecocichla).

Aethiops
(Estrildidae; syn. Nigrita † Grey-headed Nigrita N. canicapillus) Gr. Αιθιοψ Aithiops  Ethiopian, negro, blackened  < αιθω aithō  to burn; ωψ ōps, ωπος ōpos  face; this bird and its congeners were formerly known as negrofinches; "Genus ÆTHIOPS *, n. g.   Diff. Char.—Beak subconical, slightly emarginate, dilated at the base.   ...   Habitat in Africa occidentali.  Species unica.    ÆTHIOPS CANICAPILLUS.  ...  Obs. This singular generic form is very difficult to classify. The beak is somewhat similar in form to that of a Tanager, but its other characters and the African habitat forbid such a collocation. The beak also exhibits some resemblance to that of Artamus, but the shortness of the wings makes a marked contrast to that genus.   ...   * Aιθιοψ, a negro, in reference to the colour and habitat." (Strickland 1841); "Aethiops Strickland, 1841 (Oct.), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 9, p. 30 (not Aethiops Martin, 1841 (before Oct.), Gen. Introd. Nat. Hist. Mammif. Anim., pp. 506-508). Type, by monotypy, Aethiops canicapillus Strickland, 1841." (JAJ 2019).

SUBSPECIES

Northern Anteater-Chat (aethiops)
SCI Name: Myrmecocichla aethiops aethiops
aethiops
Gr. Αιθιοψ Aithiops  Ethiopian, negro, blackened  < αιθω aithō  to burn; ωψ ōps, ωπος ōpos  face.
● ex “Coucal Nègre” of Levaillant 1807, pl. 222 (?syn. Centropus menbeki, ?syn. Centropus bernsteini).
● ex “Turdus aethiops” of Lichtenstein MS (Myrmecocichla).

Northern Anteater-Chat (sudanensis)
SCI Name: Myrmecocichla aethiops sudanensis
sudanae / sudanensis
Sudan (Arabic Bilād as-Sūdān  land of negroes, a general term given to the African tropics south of the Sahara).

Northern Anteater-Chat (cryptoleuca)
SCI Name: Myrmecocichla aethiops cryptoleuca
cryptoleuca
Gr. κρυπτος kruptos hidden; λευκος leukos white.