List of amazon parrots

The amazon parrots are 33 species of parrots that comprise the genus Amazona. They are native to the New World, ranging from South America to Mexico and the Caribbean. Amazon parrots range in size from medium to large, and have relatively short, rather square tails. They are predominantly green, with accenting colours that are quite vivid in some species.

The taxonomy of the yellow-crowned amazon (Amazona ochrocephala complex) is disputed, with some authorities listing only a single species (A. ochrocephala), and others splitting it into as many as three species (A. ochrocephala, A. auropalliata and A. oratrix).[1][2][3] The yellow-faced parrot, Alipiopsitta xanthops, was traditionally placed within the amazon parrot genus, but recent research has shown that it is more closely related to the short-tailed parrot and species from the genus Pionus; as a result, it has been transferred to the monotypic genus Alipiopsitta.[4][5]

Two extinct species have been postulated, based on limited evidence.[6][7] They are the Martinique amazon (Amazona martinica)[8][9] and the Guadeloupe amazon (Amazona violacea).[6][10][11] Amazon parrots were described living on Guadeloupe by Jean-Baptiste Du Tertre in 1667 and by Jean-Baptiste Labat in 1742, and they were called Psittacus violaceus at that time. Labat also described amazon parrots living on Martinique. There are no specimens or remains of either island population, so their taxonomy may never be fully elucidated. Their status as separate species is unproven and they are regarded as hypothetical extinct species.[6]

In 2017 a study published by ornithologists Tony Silva, Antonio Guzmán, Adam D. Urantówka and Paweł Mackiewicz proposed a new species for the Yucatan Peninsula area (Mexico), being this named blue-winged amazon (Amazona gomezgarzai).[12] However, subsequent studies question its validity, indicating that these organisms possibly had an artificial hybrid origin.[13]

  1. ^ Binford, L. (1989). "A distributional survey of the birds of the Mexican state of Oaxaca." Ornithological Monographs. 43: 1–418.
  2. ^ Monroe, B, Monroe, JR & Howell T. (1966). "Geographic variation in Middle American parrots of the Amazona ochrocephala complex". Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, no. 34. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.
  3. ^ For further on this issue, see the yellow-crowned amazon taxonomic section
  4. ^ Duarte JMB and Caparroz R (1995) "Cytotaxonomic analysis of Brazilian species of the genus Amazona (Psittacidae, Aves) and confirmation of the genus Salvatoria (Ribeiro, 1920)." Brazilian Journal of Genetics 18:623–628.
  5. ^ Russello, M A & Amato, G (2004) "A molecular phylogeny of Amazona: implications for Neotropical parrot biogeography, taxonomy, and conservation." Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 30: 421–437.
  6. ^ a b c Fuller, Errol (1987). Extinct Birds. Penguin Books (England). p. 131. ISBN 0-670-81787-2.
  7. ^ "Zoological Nomenclature Resource: Psittaciformes (Version 9.022)". www.zoonomen.net. 2009-04-02.
  8. ^ BirdLife International 2008. Amazona martinicana. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
  9. ^ "Species factsheet: Amazona martinica". BirdLife International (2008). Retrieved 12 August 2008.
  10. ^ BirdLife International 2008. Amazona violacea. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
  11. ^ "Species factsheet: Amazona violacea". BirdLife International (2008). Retrieved 12 August 2008.
  12. ^ Silva, Tony; Guzmán, Antonio; Urantówka, Adam D; Mackiewicz, Paweł (June 27, 2017). "A new parrot taxon from the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico—its position within genus Amazona based on morphology and molecular phylogeny". PeerJ. 4420 (1): 139–147. doi:10.7717/peerj.3475. PMC 5490482. PMID 28674651.
  13. ^ Escalante, Patricia; Arteaga-Rojas, Abigail Eunice; Gutiérrez-Sánchez-Rüed, Mauricio (2018). "A new species of Mexican parrot? Reasonable doubt on the status of Amazona gomezgarzai (Psittaciformes: Psittacidae)". Zootaxa. 4420 (1): 139–147. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4420.1.9. PMID 30313559.