Psittacara
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Psittacara is a genus of parakeets in the tribe Arini. Species of the genus are found in Central and South America, the Caribbean and one species reaching the southern United States. Until 2013, all the species were placed in the genus Aratinga. Many of the Psittacara species are kept in aviculture or as companion parrots, where they are commonly known as conures.
Taxonomy
The members of this genus were formerly placed in the genus Aratinga. Molecular phylogenetic studies had found that Aratinga was non-monophyletic so in order to create monophylectic genera James Van Remsen Jr. and collaborators proposed in 2013 that Aratinga should be split and a group of species moved to the resurrected genus Psittacara. The genus had been introduced in 1825 by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors with the white-eyed parakeet as the type species.
Species
The genus contains 12 species including one which is now extinct:
| Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green parakeet | Psittacara holochlorus (Sclater, PL, 1859) Two subspecies P. h. brewsteri (Nelson, 1928)P. h. holochlorus (Sclater, PL, 1859)P. h. rubritorquis (Sclater, PL, 1887) | Mexico (Nuevo León and Tamaulipas south to Veracruz) | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Socorro parakeet | Psittacara brevipes (Lawrence, 1871) | Socorro Island in the Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico | Size: Habitat: Diet: | |
| Pacific parakeet | Psittacara strenuus (Ridgway, 1915) | southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | |
| Scarlet-fronted parakeet | Psittacara wagleri (GR Gray, 1845) Two subspecies P. w. wagleri (G.R. Gray, 1845)P. w. transilis (J.L. Peters, 1927) | Colombia and Venezuela. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT |
| Cordilleran parakeet | Psittacara frontatus (Cabanis, 1846) Two subspecies P. f. frontatus (Cabanis, 1846)P. f. minor (Carriker, 1933) | Eucador's Loja Province and south through most of western Peru | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT |
| Mitred parakeet | Psittacara mitratus (Tschudi, 1844) Three subspecies P. m. chlorogenys (Arndt, 2006)P. m. mitratus (Tschudi, 1844)P. m. tucumanus (Arndt, 2006) | Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Red-masked parakeet | Psittacara erythrogenys Lesson, 1844 | Ecuador and Peru. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT |
| Finsch's parakeet | Psittacara finschi (Salvin, 1871) | Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| White-eyed parakeet | Psittacara leucophthalmus (Müller, PLS, 1776) Three subspecies P. l. callogenys (Salvadori, 1891)P. l. leucophthalmus (Müller, P.L.S., 1776)P. l. nicefori (Meyer de Schauensee, 1946) | Trinidad and from eastern Venezuela east through the Guianas and south through Brazil into Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina, and Uruguay. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Cuban parakeet | Psittacara euops (Wagler, 1832) | Cuba | Size: Habitat: Diet: | VU |
| Hispaniolan parakeet | Psittacara chloropterus Souancé, 1856 | Dominican Republic and Haiti | Size: Habitat: Diet: | VU |
| † Puerto Rican parakeet | Psittacara maugei (Souancé, 1856) | Mona Island | Size: Habitat: Diet: seeds, fruits, nuts and berries. | EX |
Hypothetical species
- † Guadeloupe parakeet (Psittacara labati) Jean-Baptiste Labat described a population of small parrots living on Guadeloupe, which have been postulated to be a separate species based on little evidence. They were originally named Conurus labati, but no specimens or remains of these parrots exist. Their taxonomy may never be fully elucidated, and so their postulated status as a separate species is hypothetical.