Anodorhynchus Hyacinthinus Research Articles

The European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) for the Hyacinth macaw from 1989 to 1998: Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus

In 1989 the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) for the Hyacinth macaw Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus was founded following concerns about the status of the wild population and the lack of breeding success in captivity. In 1993 management guidelines were developed and published, and these were revised in 1996 to bring them into line with EEP guidelines for other species. Problematic aspects of breeding, hand-rearing and diet are discussed, and several detailed guidelines to facilitate successful breeding in captivity are given.

Parrot Evolution and Paleogeographical Events: Mitochondrial DNA Evidence

*Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biocieˆncias–Universidade de Sa˜o Paulo, Sa˜o Paulo, Brazil; and †Department ofZoology, University of Leicester, Leicester, EnglandWe sequenced 1,771 bp of three mitochondrial genes (12S rDNA, 16S rDNA, and cytochrome b) of nine NewWorld parrot genera (Amazona aestiva, Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, Ara ararauna, Aratinga aurea, Cyanopsittaspixii, Deroptyus accipitrinus, Guaruba guarouba, Pionus menstruus, and Pyrrhura picta) and compared them withthe corresponding sequence of Australian parakeet (Melopsittacus undulatus). Phylogenetic analyses (maximumparsimony and maximum likelihood) showed that the Neotropical species we studied constitute two monophyleticgroups: the long-tailed and the short-tailed species. The separation within the long-tailed species could be assignedto the late Oligocene–early Miocene, when paleoenvironmental changes might have influenced this radiation. Thelong-tailed Neotropical and Australasian species diverged during the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary, when SouthAmerica and Australia were moving away from Antarctica (Gondwanaland fission). We also compared our datawith the cytochrome b sequences of seven different genera of Australasian parrots obtained by other investigators,and these comparisons also support the independent evolution of the Neotropical and Australasian species. Analysesperformed with 567 bp of partial sequences of 12S rDNA and cytochrome b did not support or refute the hypothesisof monophyly of the Neotropical parrots with respect to an African species whose sequences were available.However, this analysis supported the view that the divergence between Neotropical short- and long-tailed taxa wasolder than the Oligocene–Miocene divergence among the long-tailed genera.

A arara-azul-de-Lear, Anodorhynchus leari Bonaparte, 1856

The case of the Indigo, or Lear's Macaw, Anodorhynchus leari, is unique in South American ornithology. The species, although described more than 100 years ago, was known only through very few living specimens, which entered occasionally the bird trade, without any indication of their origins. It was presumed probably some part of Brazil (Salvadori, 1891). The last speculation was that it was unlikely, though not impossible, that the Indigo Macaw might not be an independem species, but rather, a hybrid between the two other well known blue macaws, Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus and A. glaucus (Voous, 1965).

Three New Species of Heteromenopon (Mallophaga: Menoponidae) from Brazilian and Australian Parrots1

Descriptions are given for 2 new species of the subgenus Heteromenopon from Brazilian parrots and 1 new species of the subgenus Keamenopon from an Australian parrot. These species and their type-hosts are: H. (H.) passerini from Forpus passerinus, H. (H.) anodorhynchi from Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, and H. (K.) kalamundae from Purpureicephalus spurius.