| Puerto Rican parakeet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 19th-century illustration | |
Extinct (~1900) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Psittaciformes |
| Family: | Psittacidae |
| Genus: | Psittacara |
| Species: | †P. maugei |
| Binomial name | |
| †Psittacara maugei Souancé, 1856 | |
| Synonyms | |
Aratinga chloroptera maugei | |
The Puerto Rican parakeet or Puerto Rican conure (Psittacara maugei) is an extinct species of parrot that was found on Mona Island and possibly in Puerto Rico.
The bird was similar to the Hispaniolan parakeet (Psittacara chloropterus), of which it was once considered a subspecies (some sources, such as the IUCN, still follow this taxonomy.) [1] Its feathers were a duller green, and the red markings on the wing were more extensive. [2] [3]
The bird fed primarily upon seeds, fruits, nuts and berries. It may also have eaten leaf buds and flowers. Nesting took place in hollow trees, old woodpecker holes and arboreal termite nests. [2]
The Puerto Rican parakeet was a very gregarious bird, noted for its loud, continuous calling. While the bird was normally cautious, avoiding contact with humans, this lessened while feeding. As the bird often fed in farmers' fields on crops such as maize, this contributed to its widespread hunting. [2]
The last bird was seen in 1882, by W. W. Brown, who collected the specimen which now resides at the Field Museum in Chicago. [4] The date of extinction is not well recorded. It was referred to as still being extant in 1905, but reported as extinct in 1950. [5] Hunting by humans is believed to be the primary cause of extinction. [2] It was noted by James Bond that the bird was seemingly unafraid of gunshots, making it particularly vulnerable to hunting. Bond attributed the bird's extinction to the large number of pigeon hunters who travelled to Mona Island. [4] [6] Deforestation of the island may also have played a role. [4]
Three specimens of the bird still exist. Beyond the one in the Field Museum, the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum in Leiden and the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris each possess one skin. [4] Although it is believed the species may also have existed on Puerto Rico, all the existing specimens were collected from Mona Island. [5] The specimen in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle is the type specimen. [6]
The Puerto Rican boa is a large species of boa endemic to Puerto Rico. It is a terrestrial snake with a dark brown coloration. It grows to 1.9 m (6.2 ft) in length. It feeds on small mammals such as rodents and bats, birds and sometimes anole lizards. Like most boas, it is viviparous and kills its prey using constriction.
The Puerto Rican amazon, also known as the Puerto Rican parrot or iguaca, is the only extant parrot endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico, and belongs to the Neotropical genus Amazona. Measuring 28–30 cm (11.0–11.8 in), the bird is a predominantly green parrot with a red forehead and white rings around the eyes. Its closest relatives are believed to be the Cuban amazon and the Hispaniolan amazon.
The Puerto Rican nightjar or Puerto Rican whip-poor-will is a bird in the nightjar family found in the coastal dry scrub forests in localized areas of southwestern Puerto Rico. It was described in 1916 from bones found in a cave in north central Puerto Rico and a single skin specimen from 1888, and was considered extinct until observed in the wild in 1961. The current population is estimated as 1,400-2,000 mature birds. The species is currently classified as Endangered due to pressures from habitat loss.
The Puerto Rican owl or múcaro común, formerly known as the Puerto Rican screech owl, is a mid-sized "typical owl" in subfamily Striginae. It is endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico though it formerly also inhabited the Virgin Islands.
The extinct black-fronted parakeet or Tahiti parakeet was endemic to the Pacific island of Tahiti. Its native name was simply ’ā’ā ("parrot") according to Latham (1790) though White (1887) gives "aa-maha".
The Cuban macaw or Cuban red macaw is an extinct species of macaw native to the main island of Cuba and the nearby Isla de la Juventud. It became extinct in the late 19th century. Its relationship with other macaws in its genus was long uncertain, but it was thought to have been closely related to the scarlet macaw, which has some similarities in appearance. It may also have been closely related, or identical, to the hypothetical Jamaican red macaw. A 2018 DNA study found that it was the sister species of two red and two green species of extant macaws.
René Maugé was a French zoologist. René Maugé was born in 1757 in Cély-en-Bière, in the Seine-et-Marne department near Paris, France. Nothing is known of his life prior to May 1794. In that month, he started work at the Muséum Nationale d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France, learning taxidermy and studying natural history. Maugé was trained by Louis Dufresne (1752-1832) who taught him to skin birds properly. Aged 39, he joined the first government-supported expedition captained by Nicolas Baudin towards Tenerife, St. Thomas, St. Croix and Puerto Rico (1796-1798). The voyage was a success and 296 bird specimens collected by Maugé were brought back; 140+ specimens still survive. Aged 42, he again left with Baudin on a voyage to Tenerife, Mauritius, Australia and Timor with the corvette Le Géographe and the store-ship Le Naturaliste which left Le Havre on 19 October 1800. Maugé was appointed by Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu, director of the MNHN, as one of the official expedition zoologists. He died on board the Le Géographe when it was off the coast of Tasmania on 20 February 1802. He was buried on Maria Island.
The fauna of Puerto Rico is similar to other island archipelago faunas, with high endemism, and low, skewed taxonomic diversity. Bats are the only extant native terrestrial mammals in Puerto Rico. All other terrestrial mammals in the area were introduced by humans, and include species such as cats, goats, sheep, the small Indian mongoose, and escaped monkeys. Marine mammals include dolphins, manatees, and whales. Of the 349 bird species, about 120 breed in the archipelago, and 47.5% are accidental or rare.
The Greater Antillean grackle is a grackle found throughout the Greater Antilles, as well as smaller nearby islands. Like all Quiscalus grackles, it is a rather large, gregarious bird. It lives largely in heavily settled areas.
The Hispaniolan parakeet is a Vulnerable species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is endemic to the island of Hispaniola which is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. In the former country it is called "perico" and in the latter "perruche".
The Norfolk pigeon or Norfolk Island pigeon, sometimes called the wood quest, is an extinct subspecies of the New Zealand pigeon (kererū) that inhabited Norfolk Island. This population probably colonised Norfolk Island from New Zealand during the Pleistocene. It became extinct around the turn of the 20th century.
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.
The St. Kitts bullfinch, known locally as the mountain blacksmith, is a possibly extinct songbird species of the genus Melopyrrha which was endemic to the island of Saint Kitts.
Mona and Monito Islands Nature Reserve consists of two islands, Mona and Monito, in the Mona Passage off western Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. Mona and Monito Islands Nature Reserve encompasses both land and marine area, and with an area of 38,893 acres it is the largest protected natural area in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Much like the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean, the Mona and Monito Islands reserve represents a living laboratory for archaeological, biological, geological, oceanographical and wildlife management research.
