Arini, G.R.Gray, 1840

Smith, Brian Tilston, Thom, Gregory & Joseph, Leo, 2024, Revised Evolutionary And Taxonomic Synthesis For Parrots (Order: Psittaciformes) Guided By Phylogenomic Analysis, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2024 (468), pp. 1-87 : 36-38

Arini

Arini exhibits a wide range in body sizes and is a colorful group, including the largest extant parrots, the macaws. It ranges from Mexico (formerly southwestern U.S.) to Argentina. Within Arinae , the Arini is the most speciose clade. Arini also contains a number of other low-diversity genera (2–3 species). Enicognathus , Rhynchopsitta , and Pionites , which, like Deroptyus and Cyanoliseus , are all on long branches within Arini (fig. 9). The round-tailed Pionites and Deroptyus shared a common ancestor with the clade that comprises all other Arini at 14.5 Mya (7.1–19.2), which are long-tailed parrots, parakeets, and macaws (fig. 9). Depending on the threshold used to include lower quality samples, the position of Rhynchopsitta of Mexico and, formerly, Arizona varied across different phylogenomic trees. The main source of phylogenetic uncertainty for Rhynchopsitta was the position of Pyrrhura , which was separated from other clades within Arini by a short branch. In the concatenated tree, albeit with more modest ultrafast bootstrap support (81%) and in the most stringent species tree with high support, Rhynchopsitta was sister to all other Arini (except Pionites and Deroptyus ; genus Primolius in a clade that includes all blue Smith et al., 2023). Previous work recovered Cyanopsitta and Orthopsittaca (fig. 9). The clade Rhynchopsitta as part of a polytomy at the base containing Ara , Primolius , Cyanopsitta , and of Arini or in an unsupported position (Tavares Orthopsittaca had a crown age of 8.1 Mya (3.5– et al., 2006; Wright et al., 2008). Rhynchopsitta ’ s 11.4; fig. 9). Our results reaffirmed previous phylogenetic position curiously also reflects one findings that Aratinga as traditionally recogof two large biogeographic disjunctions in Arini . nized is not monophyletic and that instead Its distribution in the Mexican highlands can be breaking it up into three genera Aratinga, Eupexplained by a single colonization of Central and sittula, and Psittacara is warranted (e.g., Remsen North America. The occurrences of all other spe- et al., 2013). The position of Eupsittula was cies in Arini in Central America and Mexico are unresolved in the phylogenomic tree (fig. 9). In attributable to multiple independent dispersal the concatenated tree, we found that Eupsittula events. In addition to the colonization of North was sister to a clade containing Psittacara and America and the current large disjunction from Thectocercus , Diopsittaca , Guaruba , Leptosittaca , South American lineages, Rhynchopsitta species and Ognorhynchus with low support (UFBS are also characterized by a considerable ecologi- <70%). In the species tree, Eupsittula was sister cal shift. The genus specializes in high-elevation to Aratinga , Ara , Primolius , Cyanopsitta , and pine forests that occur throughout temperate Orthopsittaca , but also with low support (LPP = western North America to Nicaragua, a habitat 0.79). In both phylogenomic trees, the Aratinga type that has low psittaciform diversity and one sensu stricto species comprise the sister group to species of which, R. terrisi , obligatorily nests in Conuropsis and in a clade with Ara , Primolius , cliff faces. Cyanopsitta , and Orthopsittaca (fig. 9). Also The remaining taxa in Arini fall into two notable within Aratinga sensu stricto is that A. clades that separated between 6.4–18 Mya (fig. weddellii of western lowland Amazonia was on 9). One clade consists of the most speciose a relatively long branch and sister to all other genus in Arini , Pyrrhura , which began radiating Aratinga sensu stricto. It exemplifies a dilemma 7.1 Ma (2.2–10.6). The sister clade to Pyrrhura of whether such species should be separated contains 15 genera, reflecting the high morpho- generically (cf. whether among Australian parlogical disparity within this group of Arini . The rots Psephotellus varius should be separated basal divergence within this sister clade was that generically or, at least, subgenerically through of the two temperate South American sister gen- genus-group name Clarkona ). A genus-group era ( Enicognathus and Cyanoliseus ) from the name is available for A. weddellii and we discuss remaining taxa in Arini . As with previous stud- its reintroduction below.

ies ( Wright et al., 2008; Schirtzinger et al., 2012), The remaining taxa formerly in Aratinga the phylogenomic tree confirms that neither the comprise the genus Psittacara and are sister to large-bodied macaws nor the blue macaws are a clade containing five monotypic genera monophyletic (fig. 9). The large-bodied and ( Thectocercus , Diopsittaca , Guaruba , Leptositlarge-billed blue macaws in Anodorhynchus taca , and Ognorhynchus ). These five South diverged from the remaining Arini at an early American taxa have a crown age of only 6.4 internode. In contrast, the mostly large-bodied Mya (2.8–9.1), are phenotypically distinct, and and colorful macaws in Ara were sister to the span a wide range of ecoregions.