Geomalia

Open encyclopedia reference

The geomalia or Sulawesi mountain thrush (Zoothera heinrichi) is a rare member of the thrush family endemic to Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is sometimes classified as Geomalia heinrichi, in which case it is monotypic in the genus Geomalia (which is the source of its primary common name). The coloration of the bird is primarily dark brown with chestnut color on the breast. The long legs, long tail and short wings struck the discoverer as reminiscent of laughingthrushes, and the name Geomalia is itself a reference to another, superficially similar Sulawesi endemic, the malia, but the two species are not related. The specific name commemorates its discoverer, the German explorer Gerd Heinrich. There has been some debate over the taxonomic affinities of the geomalia. While it has some features typical of thrushes (such as an upright posture, juveniles with spotted underparts, and thrush-like terrestrial foraging behavior), several others (such as its long, rounded tail; short wings; and apparent lack of a song) have led authors to question whether its placement in the thrush family is appropriate.

Wikipedia contributors, Geomalia; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:23:09.591897+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Zoothera heinrichi (Stresemann, 1931)

Name authority

(Stresemann, 1931)

Common name

Geomalia

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Turdidae

Genus

Zoothera

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. familyTurdidae Rafinesque, 1815
11. genusZoothera Vigors, 1832
12. speciesZoothera heinrichi (Stresemann, 1931)

Close classified relatives

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

Browse 168 records assigned to Turdidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1276802 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:TX8QB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.