Rock Tapaculo

Open encyclopedia reference

The rock tapaculo or Espinhaço tapaculo (Scytalopus petrophilus) is a species of bird in the family Rhinocryptidae. It is endemic to altitudes of 900–2,100 metres (3,000–6,900 ft) in the central and southern Espinhaço Mountains, and the Mantiqueira Mountains in Minas Gerais, Brazil, though it may also occur in adjacent parts of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. It is found in shrubby and grassy habitats in rocky regions, and in elfin and cloud forest. It closely resembles the Diamantina tapaculo and Planalto tapaculo in appearance and voice (especially song; less so in call).

Here we follow South American Classification Committee (SACC), but the taxonomy is extremely complex, and it is possible the correct scientific name of this relatively pale inland species is S. speluncae, in which case the closely related darker species from the Serra do Mar region would be S. notorius.

Wikipedia contributors, Rock tapaculo; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:30:40.071597+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Scytalopus petrophilus Whitney, de Vasconcelos, Silveira & Pacheco, 2010

Name authority

Whitney, de Vasconcelos, Silveira & Pacheco, 2010

Common name

Rock Tapaculo

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Rhinocryptidae

Genus

Scytalopus

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderPasseriformes
10. familyRhinocryptidae Wetmore, 1930
11. genusScytalopus Gould, 1837
12. speciesScytalopus petrophilus Whitney, de Vasconcelos, Silveira & Pacheco, 2010

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Scytalopus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 58 records assigned to Rhinocryptidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. Whitney, Bret M., Marcelo Ferreira de Vasconcelos, Luís Fábio Silveira, and José Fernando Pacheco. (2010). Scytalopus petrophilus (Rock Tapaculo): a new species from Minas Gerais, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, Vol. 18, No. 2. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:4W5TH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.