The genus was introduced by the German naturalist
Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802. The
type species was subsequently designated as the
European stonechat. The name
Saxicola is from Latin
saxum,
saxi "stone" and
-cola "dweller". The genus was formerly included in the thrush family
Turdidae, but as with several other related genera, has now been shown to be correctly classified in the Old World flycatcher family
Muscicapidae, in which it is most closely related to the genera
Oenanthe (wheatears) and
Campicoloides. Genetic and behavioural evidence has also resulted in several new species being accepted in the genus in recent years, most notably the splitting of the former broad "species"
common stonechat Saxicola torquatus into five species, a change now widely though not yet universally accepted. With addition of
mtDNA cytochrome b sequence and
nDNA fingerprinting data, it was confirmed that not only the
Fuerteventura and
Réunion stonechats are distinct species, but that in addition, the
African,
Madagascar,
European,
Siberian and
Amur stonechats are also all separate species. Due to confusion of
subspecies allocation, the name
S. torquatus was briefly used for the European species, with the African stonechat being incorrectly listed as
S. axillaris.
Species The following 13 species are currently accepted in
Saxicola: Formerly included in the genus
Saxicola, but now treated in a separate genus: •
Splendid fairywren, as
Saxicola splendens •
Buff-streaked chat, as
Saxicola bifasciatus Fossil record •
Saxicola lambrechti (Late Miocene of Polgardi, Hungary) •
Saxicola baranensis (Pliocene of Beremend, Hungary) •
Saxicola parva (Pliocene of Csarnota, Hungary) •
Saxicola magna (Pliocene of Beremend, Hungary) ==References==