NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
West African Batis
Batis occulta Lawson, 1984
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The West African batis (Batis occulta) is a species of bird in the family Platysteiridae.
It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Fernando Po batis.
Wikipedia contributors, West African batis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:13:19.149209+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Batis occulta Lawson, 1984
- Name authority
- Lawson, 1984
- Common name
- West African Batis
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Platysteiridae
- Genus
- Batis
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyPlatysteiridae Mathews, 1922
- genusBatis F. Boie, 1833
- speciesBatis occulta Lawson, 1984
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Batis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Black-headed BatisBatis minor Erlanger, 1901 | PlatysteiridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ituri BatisBatis ituriensis Chapin, 1921 | PlatysteiridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Angola BatisBatis minulla (Barboza du Bocage, 1874) | PlatysteiridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Margaret's BatisBatis margaritae Boulton, 1934 | PlatysteiridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dark BatisBatis crypta Fjeldså, Bowie & Kiure, 2006 | PlatysteiridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pygmy BatisBatis perkeo Neumann, 1907 | PlatysteiridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Malawi BatisBatis dimorpha (Shelley, 1893) | PlatysteiridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rwenzori BatisBatis diops F. J. Jackson, 1905 | PlatysteiridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Western Black-headed BatisBatis erlangeri Neumann, 1907 | PlatysteiridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Woodwards' BatisBatis fratrum (Shelley in Woodward & Woodward, 1900) | PlatysteiridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chinspot BatisBatis molitor (Küster, 1836) | PlatysteiridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gabon BatisBatis minima (J. Verreaux & É. Verreaux, 1855) | PlatysteiridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Batis poensis occulta Lawson, 1984 Lawson, 1984 | synonym |
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.
- Lawson, & Walter James. (1984). The West African mainland forest dwelling population of Batis; a new species. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club, Vol. 104, No. 4. 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:5WG5H. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.