A new parrot taxon from the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico—its position within genusAmazonabased on morphology and molecular phylogeny

Abstract

Parrots (Psittaciformes) are a diverse group of birds which need urgent protection. However, many taxa from this order have an unresolved status, which makes their conservation difficult. One species-rich parrot genus is Amazona, which is widely distributed in the New World. Here we describe a new Amazona form, which is endemic to the Yucatán Peninsula. This parrot is clearly separable from other Amazona species in eleven morphometric characters as well as call and behavior. The clear differences in these features imply that the parrot most likely represents a new species. In contrast to this, the phylogenetic tree based on mitochondrial markers shows that this parrot groups with strong support within A. albifrons from Central America, which would suggest that it is a subspecies of A. albifrons. However, taken together tree topology tests and morphometric analyses, we can conclude that the new parrot represents a recently evolving species, whose taxonomic status should be further confirmed. This lineage diverged from its closest relative about 120,000 years ago and was subjected to accelerated morphological and behavioral changes like some other representatives of the genus Amazona. Our phylogenies, which are so far the most comprehensive for Amazona taxa enabled us to consider the most feasible scenarios about parrot colonization of the Greater and Lesser Antilles and Central America from South America mainland. The molecular dating of these migrations and diversification rate were correlated with climatic and geological events in the last five million years, giving an interesting insight into Amazon parrot phylogeography and their evolution in general.

Crowdsourcing and phylogenetic modelling reveal parrot tool use is not rare

“…As per the database, specialists were defined as species whose diet comprised at least 70% of a single food source. To calculate relative brain size, we collated data from the literature for all known body mass (g) and brain mass (g) values across parrots [47][48][49][50][51][52] . For all species for which we obtained body and brain mass data, we calculated the encephalisation quotient (EQ) using the following formula 77 : BrainW eight/(0.12 * BodyW eight( 23 )).…”

“…Over 70% of all extant parrot species are bred in the aviculture industry and kept as pets worldwide [40][41][42][43][44][45][46] , enabling us to leverage the power of crowdsourcing on a social media platform to search for evidence of tool use 20 . Third, detailed data on relative brain sizes [47][48][49][50][51][52] , feeding strategies 53 , and shared ancestry 54 exist for parrots, allowing us to fit the statistical model implied by Figure 1 to the entire parrot order.…”

The Linz Zoocode project. Fifth report of activities (2022).<br>Nomenclatural availability. 4. Electronic publication

“…In the Zoobank entry of a manuscript planned for promulgation, a new nomen was preregistered under two distinct paronyms: Amazona gomezgarzai and Amazona albifrons gomezgarzai. However, in the final paper as it was issued (Silva et al 2017), the second paronym is missing. Thus, this paronym remains currently unpublished, although it still appears on Zoobank as a result of the original registration.…”

Advancing Genetic Methods in the Study of Parrot Biology and Conservation

“…The need to recognize subspecies within the Mulga Parrot Psephotellus varius, generally considered monotypic, was also evident from phylogeographic structure either side of a well-known biogeographic barrier in southern Australia in their mitogenomic diversity and genome-wide nuclear markers [112]. Notably in contrast, recognition of Amazona gomezgarzai by Silva et al [113] has been roundly debunked by Escalante et al [114].…”