Ocellated Thrasher Toxostoma ocellatum
Version: 1.0 — Published April 4, 2014
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Systematics
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Geographic Variation
Two subspecies recognized (but geographic variation slight?):
ocellatum, described as Harporhynchus ocellatus Sclater 1862; type locality Oaxaca [Mexico]
Occurs in central Mexico in western Veracruz and central Oaxaca (Phillips 1986).
See Detailed Description.
villai, described as Toxostoma ocellatum villai Phillips 1986; type locality "Contreras, D[istrito] F[ederal]" [Mexico] (the use of quotations around the type locality in the original description "probably indicates [Phillips'] well founded belief that W. W. Brown's data are not always to be trusted", Dickerman and Parkes 1997)
Occurs in central Mexico from Guanajuato and Hidalgo south to northwestern Oaxaca.
Similar to nominate ocellatum, but "duller, drabber gray above" (Phillips 1986).
Related Species
The phylogenetic relationahips of Toxostoma are not completely resolved. An analysis of patterns of variation in skeletal morphology, allozymes, in mitochondrial DNA restriction sites, and in mitochondrial DNA sequences identified several monophyletic groups: a rufum group (Toxostoma rufum Brown Thrasher, Toxostoma longirostre Long-billed Thrasher, and Toxostoma guttatum Cozumel Thrasher); a lecontei group (Toxostoma lecontei Le Conte's Thrasher, Toxostoma crissale Crissal Thrasher, and Toxostoma redivivum California Thrasher); and a cinereum group (Toxostoma cinereum Gray Thrasher and Toxostoma bendirei Bendire's Thrasher) (Zink et al. 1999). The positions of Toxostoma ocellatum and Toxostoma curvirostre (Curve-billed Thrasher) were unresolved; these two appear not to be sister species, although both may be related to the rufum group (Zink et al. 1999).