NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Slaty-backed Thornbill
Acanthiza robustirostris Milligan, 1903
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.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Acanthiza robustirostris Milligan, 1903
- Name authority
- Milligan, 1903
- Common name
- Slaty-backed Thornbill
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Acanthizidae
- Genus
- Acanthiza
- 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
- familyAcanthizidae Bonaparte, 1854
- genusAcanthiza Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
- speciesAcanthiza robustirostris Milligan, 1903
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Acanthiza. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Tasmanian ThornbillAcanthiza ewingii Gould, 1844 | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Brown ThornbillAcanthiza pusilla (Shaw, 1790) | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Inland ThornbillAcanthiza apicalis Gould, 1847 | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Buff-rumped ThornbillAcanthiza reguloides Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Striated ThornbillAcanthiza lineata Gould, 1838 | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-rumped ThornbillAcanthiza chrysorrhoa (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832) | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| New Guinea ThornbillAcanthiza murina (De Vis, 1897) | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow ThornbillAcanthiza nana Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Slender-billed ThornbillAcanthiza iredalei Mathews, 1911 | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mountain ThornbillAcanthiza katherina De Vis, 1905 | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Western ThornbillAcanthiza inornata Gould, 1841 | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
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.
- Milligan, & Alexander William. (1903). Descriptions of a New Xerophila and New Acanthiza from Western Australia. The Emu, Vol. 3, No. 1. 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:64D33. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.