Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 24, 2026

Dendroplex

Dendroplex is a genus of birds in the woodcreeper subfamily Dendrocolaptinae. It was long merged into Xiphorhynchus, but its distinctness has now been established.

Last revised
Jul 24, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
423 w
Citations
6
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Dendroplex
Straight-billed woodcreeper (Dendroplex picus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Furnariidae
Subfamily: Dendrocolaptinae
Genus: Dendroplex
Swainson, 1827
Type species
Oriolus picus
Species

Dendroplex kienerii
Dendroplex picus

Dendroplex is a genus of birds in the woodcreeper subfamily Dendrocolaptinae. It was long merged into Xiphorhynchus, but its distinctness has now been established.1

Taxonomy

The genus Dendroplex was introduced in 1827 by the English naturalist William Swainson.2 The genus name combines the Ancient Greek dendron meaning "tree" with plēssō meaning "to strike".3 Swainson did not specify a type species but this was fixed in 2007 as the straight-billed woodcreeper which had first been described in 1788 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin with the binomial name Oriolus picus.45

The genus contains two species:6

Genus Dendroplex – Swainson, 1827 – Two species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
Straight-billed woodcreeper

 Dendroplex picus
(Gmelin, JF, 1788)

Thirteen subspecies
  • D. p. extimus Griscom, 1927
  • D. p. dugandi Wetmore & Phelps, WH, 1946
  • D. p. picirostris Lafresnaye, 1847
  • D. p. saturatior Hellmayr, 1925
  • D. p. choicus Wetmore & Phelps, WH, 1946
  • D. p. paraguanae (Phelps, WH & Phelps, WH Jr, 1962)
  • D. p. longirostris Richmond, 1896
  • D. p. altirostris (Léotaud, 1866)
  • D. p. phalarus Wetmore, 1939
  • D. p. deltanus (Phelps, WH & Phelps, WH Jr, 1952)
  • D. p. picus (Gmelin, JF, 1788)
  • D. p. duidae Zimmer, JT, 1934
  • D. p. peruvianus Zimmer, JT, 1934
Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


Zimmer's woodcreeper

 Dendroplex kienerii
(des Murs, 1856) 		Amazon river and tributaries
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 



References

References

  1. Aleixo, Alexandre (2002). "Molecular systematics and the role of the "Várzea"–"Terra-Firme" ecotone in the diversification of Xiphorhynchus woodcreepers (Aves: Dendrocolaptidae)". The Auk. 119 (3): 621–640. doi:10.1093/auk/119.3.621.
  2. Swainson, William (1827). "On several groups and forms in ornithology, not hitherto defined". Zoological Journal. 3: 158–175, 343–363 [354].
  3. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. Aleixo, A.; Gregory, S.M.S.; Penhallurick, J. (2007). "Fixation of the type species and revalidation of the genus Dendroplex Swainson, 1827 (Dendrocolaptidae)". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 127: 242–246.
  5. Dickinson, E.C.; Christidis, L., eds. (2014). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2: Passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-9568611-2-2.
  6. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2023). "Ovenbirds, woodcreepers". IOC World Bird List Version 13.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 6 March 2023.