Myrmotherula is a genus of insectivorous passerine birds in the antbird family, Thamnophilidae. These are all small antbirds, measuring .
Taxonomy: The genus
Myrmotherula was erected by the English zoologist Philip Sclater in 1858. The type species is the pygmy antwren.
Myrmotherula is a diminutive of the name
Myrmothera that had been introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Vieillot for the antpittas.
Myrmothera combines the Ancient Greek μυρμος/
murmos meaning "ant" with -θηρας/
-thēras meaning "hunter".
The genus currently contains the following species:
Streaked group:
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|
| Moustached antwren | Myrmotherula ignota | western Amazonia and Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena |
| Pygmy antwren | Myrmotherula brachyura | Amazonia |
| Guianan streaked antwren | Myrmotherula surinamensis | Giuana Shield |
| Amazonian streaked antwren | Myrmotherula multostriata | Amazonia |
| Pacific antwren | Myrmotherula pacifica | Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena |
| Cherrie´s antwren | Myrmotherula cherriei | northern Amazonia |
| Klages´s antwren | Myrmotherula klagesi | Branco]] and lower Amazon River |
| Stripe-chested antwren | Myrmotherula longicauda | eastern foothills of northern Andes |
| - | Yellow-throated antwren | Myrmotherula ambigua | Rio Negro]] |
| Sclater´s antwren | Myrmotherula sclateri | southern Amazonia |
Grey group:
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|
| White-flanked antwren | Myrmotherula axilliaris | Central America and northern South America |
| Silvery-flanked antwren | Myrmotherula luctuosa | Atlantic Forest |
| Slaty antwren | Myrmotherula schisticolor | Central America and Northern Andes |
| - | Rio Suno antwren | Myrmotherula sunensis | sparse range across western Amazonia |
| Salvadori´s antwren | Myrmotherula minor | mid Atlantic Forest |
| Long-winged antwren | Myrmotherula longipennis | Amazonia |
| Band-tailed antwren | Myrmotherula urosticta | Bahia coastal forests |
| Ihering´s antwren | Myrmotherula iheringi | southern Amazonia |
| - | Rio de Janeiro antwren | Myrmotherula fluminensis | Serra dos Órgãos |
| Yungas antwren | Myrmotherula grisea | Yungas |
| Unicolored antwren | Myrmotherula unicolor | southern Atlantic Forest |
| Alagoas antwren | Myrmotherula snowi | Pernambuco coastal forests |
| - | Plain-winged antwren | Myrmotherula behni | tepuis and sparsely across northern Andes |
| Grey antwren | Myrmotherula menestriesii | Amazonia |
| Leaden antwren | Myrmotherula assimilis | riverine Amazonia |
Several species previously included in this genus as the "stipple-throated group" have now been transferred to a new genus,
Epinecrophylla based on a 2006 study of nest architecture, foraging behaviour and vocal repertoire. A molecular genetic study published in 2012 found that the genus was not monophyletic. As a step in creating monophyletic genera, two species that were only distantly related to the other members of
Myrmotherula, the rufous-bellied antwren and the plain-throated antwren, were moved to the newly erected genus
Isleria. A further study published in 2014 confirmed that the species remaining in
Myrmotherula formed a paraphyletic group with respect to the genera
Terenura,
Formicivora,
Stymphalornis and
Myrmochanes.