49 species, see list Scytalopus is a genus of small suboscine passerine birds belonging to the tapaculo family Rhinocryptidae.

They are found in South and Central America from Tierra del Fuego to Costa Rica, but are absent from the Amazon Basin.

Little is known about the breeding habits of most species but the eggs are usually white and the nest is usually ball-shaped and made of plant material such as root-fibres and mosses.

The confusing situation is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that only 10 species were recognized in this genus in 1970 (Krabbe & Schulenberg, 2003), while the figure now is more than four times as high.

The Brazilian taxa are similarly complex with several recently described species and considerable confusion surrounding the use of the scientific name Scytalopus speluncae.

Some species have highly localized distributions, and being poor fliers, they easily become isolated in small populations.