Magdalena Tapaculo

Open encyclopedia reference

The Magdalena tapaculo (Scytalopus rodriguezi), also known as the Upper Magdalena tapaculo, is a member of the tapaculos, a group of Neotropical birds. It was described as new to science in 2005.

It is a restricted-range endemic presently known only from two localities on the eastern slope of the Cordillera Central at the head of the Magdalena Valley, Colombia at 2000 m or more above sea-level. Its range is believed to be no greater than 170 km2, and its population around 2,200 pairs; due to its recent description, no formal evaluation of its conservation status has taken place yet, however. It is found in humid forests with dense understorey.

The species scientific name honours José Vicente Rodriguez Mahecha, a Colombian conservationist.

The existence of this species was first suspected in 1986, when a tape-recording of the bird's song was made, but political instability in the region prevented a return visit until 2002–2003, when the species' existence was confirmed.

Wikipedia contributors, Magdalena tapaculo; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:14:28.173731+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Scytalopus rodriguezi Krabbe, Salaman, Cortés-Diago, Quevedo, Ortega & Cadena, 2005

Name authority

Krabbe, Salaman, Cortés-Diago, Quevedo, Ortega & Cadena, 2005

Common name

Magdalena 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 rodriguezi Krabbe, Salaman, Cortés-Diago, Quevedo, Ortega & Cadena, 2005

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. Krabbe, Niels, Paul Salaman, Alex Cortés, Alonso Quevedo, Luis Alfonso Ortega, & and Carlos Daniel Cad. (2005). A new species of Scytalopus tapaculo from the upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club, Vol. 125, 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:4W5TL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.