Broad-billed Sapayoa
Encyclopedia
The Sapayoa or Broad-billed Sapayoa (Sapayoa aenigma) is a suboscine passerine
found in lowland rainforest
s in Panama
and northwest South America
. As the epithet aenigma ("the enigma") implies, its relationships have long been elusive. It is easy to overlook, but appears to be common in a wide range and is not considered threatened by the IUCN.
The Sapayoa is a small, olive-colored bird, somewhat paler below and with a yellowish throat. Its habitus
resembles a bigger, longer-tailed, broader-billed female manakin
. It is rare to uncommon in the forest
understory, favoring ravines and small streams. It is usually seen in pairs or mixed-species flocks
. It spends long periods perching, then sallies up to pick fruit or catch insects, on foliage or in mid air, with its flat, wide bill in a way reminiscent of flatbill
s. Other aspects of its biology as late as 2003 were still unknown.
It has always been considered a monotypic
genus Sapayoa and historically regarded as a New World suboscine; in particular, it was assigned to the manakin family (Pipridae). However, the species
was listed as incertae sedis
(position uncertain) in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy
, because
More recent research suggests that it is not a New World suboscine at all, but an Old World suboscine. In 2004, it was shown that the Sapayoa is an outlier to the New World suboscines. In an earlier analysis based on nDNA myoglobin
intron
2 and GAPDH intron 11 sequence
data, the authors found the Sapayoa
Accordingly, the Sapayoa would be the last surviving New World species of a lineage that evolved in Australia-New Guinea when Gondwana
was in the process of splitting apart. The Sapayoa's ancestors are hypothesized to have reached South America
via the Western Antarctica Peninsula.
Nowadays, the Sapoyoa is sometimes placed in the family Eurylaimidae with the broadbills. Others tentatively place the Sapayoa in the asity
family Philepittidae otherwise found only in Madagascar
and sometimes included in the broadbill family.
However, the divergence between the broadbills and the Sapayoa found in the 2003 study is only slightly less deep than that between the Sapayoa and the pittas. It is even possible though unlikely that the present species is actually closer to the pittas than to the broadbills. Consequently, it is suggested to place the Sapayoa in its own monotypic
family
Sapayoidae, as is done here.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
found in lowland rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and northwest South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. As the epithet aenigma ("the enigma") implies, its relationships have long been elusive. It is easy to overlook, but appears to be common in a wide range and is not considered threatened by the IUCN.
The Sapayoa is a small, olive-colored bird, somewhat paler below and with a yellowish throat. Its habitus
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
resembles a bigger, longer-tailed, broader-billed female manakin
Manakin
The manakins are a family, Pipridae, of unique small suboscine passerine birds. The family contains some 60 species. They are distributed through the American tropics...
. It is rare to uncommon in the forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
understory, favoring ravines and small streams. It is usually seen in pairs or mixed-species flocks
Mixed-species feeding flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species, that join each other and move together while foraging...
. It spends long periods perching, then sallies up to pick fruit or catch insects, on foliage or in mid air, with its flat, wide bill in a way reminiscent of flatbill
Flatbill
Flatbill refers to the members of two genera of the family Tyrannidae:*Ramphotrigon*RhynchocyclusIn recent years it has also frequently been used for the members of another genus in the family Tyrannidae:*Tolmomyias...
s. Other aspects of its biology as late as 2003 were still unknown.
It has always been considered a monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genus Sapayoa and historically regarded as a New World suboscine; in particular, it was assigned to the manakin family (Pipridae). However, the species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
was listed as incertae sedis
Incertae sedis
, is a term used to define a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Uncertainty at specific taxonomic levels is attributed by , , and similar terms.-Examples:*The fossil plant Paradinandra suecica could not be assigned to any...
(position uncertain) in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy
Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy
The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy is a bird taxonomy proposed by Charles Sibley and Jon Edward Ahlquist. It is based on DNA-DNA hybridization studies conducted in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s....
, because
"preliminary DNA-DNA hybridization comparisons [...] indicate that this species is either a relative of the Old World Eurylaimidae or a sister group of all other Tyrannida, as suggested by earlier biochemical studies [...] In any event, it is not a close relative of manakins or any other recent tyrannoid."
More recent research suggests that it is not a New World suboscine at all, but an Old World suboscine. In 2004, it was shown that the Sapayoa is an outlier to the New World suboscines. In an earlier analysis based on nDNA myoglobin
Myoglobin
Myoglobin is an iron- and oxygen-binding protein found in the muscle tissue of vertebrates in general and in almost all mammals. It is related to hemoglobin, which is the iron- and oxygen-binding protein in blood, specifically in the red blood cells. The only time myoglobin is found in the...
intron
Intron
An intron is any nucleotide sequence within a gene that is removed by RNA splicing to generate the final mature RNA product of a gene. The term intron refers to both the DNA sequence within a gene, and the corresponding sequence in RNA transcripts. Sequences that are joined together in the final...
2 and GAPDH intron 11 sequence
DNA sequence
The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the composition of atoms that make up the nucleic acid and the chemical bonds that bond those atoms. Because nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are unbranched polymers, this specification is equivalent to specifying the sequence of...
data, the authors found the Sapayoa
"as a deep branch in the group of broadbillBroadbillThe broadbills are a family of small passerine birds, Eurylaimidae. The Smithornis and Pseudocalyptomena species occur in sub-Saharan Africa; the rest extend from the eastern Himalayas to Sumatra and Borneo. The family possibly also includes the Sapayoa from the Neotropics and the asities from...
s and pittaPittaPitta may stand for:*Pittas, a family of tropical birds*Pitta bread *Pitta , an island in the Dodecanese archipelago, in the Aegean Sea...
s of the Old World tropics."
Accordingly, the Sapayoa would be the last surviving New World species of a lineage that evolved in Australia-New Guinea when Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
was in the process of splitting apart. The Sapayoa's ancestors are hypothesized to have reached South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
via the Western Antarctica Peninsula.
Nowadays, the Sapoyoa is sometimes placed in the family Eurylaimidae with the broadbills. Others tentatively place the Sapayoa in the asity
Asity
The asities, are a family, the Philepittidae, of small suboscine passerine birds. The family consists of four species in two genera endemic to Madagascar. They were thought to have been related to the pittas, hence the scientific name of the family, but a 1993 study suggested that they are actually...
family Philepittidae otherwise found only in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and sometimes included in the broadbill family.
However, the divergence between the broadbills and the Sapayoa found in the 2003 study is only slightly less deep than that between the Sapayoa and the pittas. It is even possible though unlikely that the present species is actually closer to the pittas than to the broadbills. Consequently, it is suggested to place the Sapayoa in its own monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
Sapayoidae, as is done here.