Phylogenetic relationships among some neotropical parrot genera (Psittacidae) based on mitochondrial sequences

Abstract

The New World tribe Arini includes 30 genera and represents 148 known species of parrots. A previous phylogenetic study examined nine of those genera and suggested the existence of two groups. Our objective was to better understand the relationships among 14 species from 9 genera belonging to one of those groups. We partially sequenced the 125 and 165 ribosomal DNAs, cytochrome b, cytochrome oxidase I, and control region. We improved our understanding of the phylogenetic relationships among Neotropical parrots by adding both taxa and sequences, but the relationships among the deeper lineages were not well resolved. Our results agree with present classifications that place some species formerly in the genus Ara into three additional genera (Primolius, Orthopsittaca, and Diopsittaca). Additionally, we suggest that (1) D. nobilis and Guarouba guarouba are closely related and the genus Aratinga is not monophyletic; (2) diversification of genera may have occurred during the Miocene, and of species within genera during the Pliocene and Pleistocene; and (3) geologic, climatic, and environmental changes in South America may have been related to that diversification.