Oceanic eclectus Temporal range: Late Pleistocene to Holocene | |
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1793 drawing of a parrot believed to be the Oceanic eclectus parrot | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Psittaciformes |
Family: | Psittaculidae |
Genus: | Eclectus |
Species: | †E. infectus |
Binomial name | |
†Eclectus infectus Steadman, 2006 | |
The oceanic eclectus [2] (Eclectus infectus) is an extinct parrot species which occurred on Tonga, Vanuatu and possibly on Fiji. Its only living relative is the eclectus parrot (Eclectus roratus), which has proportionally larger wings than the oceanic eclectus parrot. The fossil material unearthed in November 1989 in Late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits on 'Eua, Lifuka, 'Uiha and Vanuatu and described in 2006 by David William Steadman include a complete femur, five radii, a quadrate bone, a mandible, a coracoid, two sterna, two humeri, two ulnae, two tibiotarsi, a carpometacarpus, a tarsometatarsus, and three pedal phalanges. [3]
The oceanic eclectus parrot became extinct on Tonga during the early settlement 3000 years ago, presumably due to human-caused factors. On Vava'u, it may have survived into historic times because among the drawings which were created in 1793 during Alessandro Malaspina's Pacific expedition, there is one sketch which appears to portray an Oceanic eclectus parrot. [4]
Fossil remains of the oceanic eclectus (Eclectus infectus), have been found in archaeological sites in the islands of Tonga and Vanuatu. [5] The species presumably existed in Fiji, as well. E. infectus had proportionally smaller wings than the Moluccan eclectus. The species became extinct after the arrival of humans 3000 years ago, presumably due to human-caused factors (habitat loss, introduced species).
The true parrots are about 350 species of hook-billed, mostly herbivorous birds forming the two superfamilies Psittacidae, and Psittaculidae, two of the three superfamilies in the biological order Psittaciformes (parrots). True parrots are widespread, with species in Mexico, Central and South America, sub-Saharan Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Australia, and eastwards across the Pacific Ocean as far as Polynesia. The true parrots include many of the familiar parrots including macaws, conures, lorikeets, eclectus, Amazon parrots, grey parrot, and budgerigar. Most true parrots are colourful and flighted, with a few notable exceptions.
The Moluccan eclectus is a parrot native to the Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is unusual in the parrot family for its extreme sexual dimorphism of the colours of the plumage; the male having a mostly bright emerald green plumage and the female a mostly bright red and purple/blue plumage. Joseph Forshaw, in his book Parrots of the World, noted that the first European ornithologists to see eclectus parrots thought they were of two distinct species. Large populations of this parrot remain, and they are sometimes considered pests for eating fruit off trees. Some populations restricted to relatively small islands are comparably rare. Their bright feathers are also used by native tribespeople in New Guinea as decorations.
Eclectus is a genus of parrot, the Psittaciformes, which consists of four known extant species known as eclectus parrots and the extinct Eclectus infectus, the oceanic eclectus parrot. The extant eclectus parrots are medium-sized parrots native to regions of Oceania, particularly New Guinea and Australia. Males are mostly bright green, females are predominantly bright red. The male and female eclectus were once thought to be different species. The conservation status of the remaining species is least concern. Eclectus parrots do well in captivity, and are a very popular pet across the world.
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Ara is a Neotropical genus of macaws with eight extant species and at least two extinct species. The genus name was coined by French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799. It gives its name to and is part of the Arini, or tribe of Neotropical parrots. The genus name Ara is derived from the Tupi word ará, an onomatopoeia of the sound a macaw makes.
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