Kingdom Animalia Subclass Neornithes Order Apodiformes Scientific name Threnetes niger Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Infraclass Neognathae Family Trochilidae Higher classification Threnetes | |
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Similar Threnetes, Streak‑throated hermit, Pale‑tailed barbthroat, Needle‑billed hermit, Cinnamon‑throated hermit | ||
The sooty barbthroat (Threnetes niger) is a hummingbird species in the family Trochilidae.
It is found in French Guiana and the northeastern part of the Amazon Basin. Its natural habitat is humid tropical lowland forest.
The taxonomy and systematics of the sooty/pale-tailed barbthroat complex has caused much confusion. Some authors consider the sooty barbthroat to be a melanistic variant of the pale-tailed barbthroat (T. leucurus). As T. niger was described first, this scientific name is the valid name for both when they are considered conspecific.
On the other hand, the SACC for example considers T. niger and T. leucurus distinct species, because of insufficient published evidence for their being conspecific. This "combined" species is considered to be of Least Concern by the IUCN.
In addition, some suggest that the bronze-tailed barbthroat (T. n. loehkeni) should also be considered a valid species and include the doubtful Christina's barbthroat (T. n. christinae) as a subspecies. Freire's sooty barbthroat (T. n. freirei) is intermediate between the sooty and bronze-tailed barbthroats however, and thus its status needs to be clarified before the situation is resolved.