''Aratinga'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of South American conures. Most are predominantly green, although a few are predominantly yellow or orange. They are social and commonly seen in groups in the wild. In

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, the popular name of several species usually is ''jandaia'', sometimes written as ''jandaya'' in the scientific form. Many species from this genus are popular pets, although being larger than the members of the genus '' Pyrrhura'', they need a sizable

aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where Bird flight, they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flig ...

to thrive.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Aratinga'' was introduced in 1824 by the German naturalist

Johann Baptist von Spix Johann Baptist Ritter von Spix (9 February 1781 – 13 March 1826) was a German natural history, biologist. From his expedition to Brazil, he brought to Germany a large variety of specimens of plants, insects, mammals, birds, amphibians and fish. ...

. The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

was subsequently designated as the sun parakeet. The genus name is from the extinct

Tupi language Old Tupi, Ancient Tupi or Classical Tupi () is a classical Tupian language which was spoken by the indigenous Tupi people of Brazil, mostly those who inhabited coastal regions in South and Southeast Brazil. In the words of Brazilian tupinol ...

of Brasil. ''Ará tinga'' means "bright bird" or "bright parrot". The

taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...

of this genus has recently been resolved by splitting it in four genera, as the genus as previously defined was

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

. The species of the '' Aratinga solstitialis'' complex were retained in this genus, while other former ''Aratinga'' species were moved to '' Eupsittula'' (brownish-throated species), '' Psittacara'' (pale-beaked species) and '' Thectocercus'' (blue-crowned parakeet). Furthermore, the closely related nanday parakeet (''A. nenday'') and the dusky-headed parakeet (''A. weddellii'') are placed in this genus. The nanday parakeet was previously placed in its own genus based on the differences in coloration and elongated upper mandible, but this was not supported by

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

studies that showed a close relationship with the ''A. solstitialis'' species complex.

Species

Hypothetical extinct species

Jean-Baptiste Labat described a population of small parrots living on

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

, which has been postulated to be a separate species based on little evidence. They were called ''Conurus labati'', and are now referred to as the Guadeloupe parakeet (''Aratinga labati''). No specimens or remains of the

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

parrots are known. Their taxonomy may never be fully elucidated, so their postulated status as a separate species is hypothetical, and it is regarded as a hypothetical extinct species.

References

{{Authority control Arini (tribe) Bird genera Taxa named by Johann Baptist von Spix