A genus-level classification of the family Thraupidae (Class Aves: Order Passeriformes)

11. Poospizinae, new subfamily (Fig. 3)

Type genus. Poospiza Cabanis, 1847.

Included genera. Cnemoscopus Bangs & Penard, 1919, Compsospiza Berlepsch, 1893, Cypsnagra Lesson, 1831, Donacospiza Cabanis, 1851, Hemispingus Cabanis, 1851, Nephelornis Lowery & Tallman, 1976, Piezorina Lafresnaye, 1843, Poospiza Cabanis, 1847, Pyrrhocoma Cabanis, 1851, Thlypopsis Cabanis, 1851, Urothraupis Taczanowski & Berlepsch, 1885, Xenospingus Cabanis, 1867.

Diagnosis. We do not know any morphological characters that unite this diverse group. Instead, we have identified seven unreversed molecular synapomorphies across four genes. These are, for ND2: C1003A; for ACO1: A768G; for MBI2: G110A and T190C; for RAG1: T253C, C568G and A1984G. Cladistically, we define this subfamily as the descendants of the common ancestor of Xenospingus concolor and Poospiza melanoleuca.

Comments. This subfamily name was originally used by Wolters (1980), but as he provided no description it is there a nomen nudum. Although Burns et al. (2014) described this subfamily, they failed to explicitly designate Poospizinae as a new subfamily name. Here we correct this omission and indicate Poospizinae as a new subfamily.

The genus names used within this subfamily require extensive revision. In particular, the large genera Hemispingus Cabanis, 1851, and Poospiza Cabanis, 1847, are polyphyletic with respect to each other and with respect to eight other genera (Fig. 3). Thus, we make recommendations 12 to 20 below to bring the classification of this subfamily into alignment with the topology of our phylogenetic tree.