Described by French naturalist

Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest (6 March 1784 – 4 June 1838) was a French Zoology, zoologist and author. He was the son of Nicolas Desmarest and the father of Eugène Anselme Sébastien Léon Desmarest. Career Desmarest was a disciple of Georges Cu ...

in 1826, the genus ''Calyptorhynchus'' has two species of cockatoos. They are all mostly black in colour, and the taxa may be differentiated partly by size and partly by small areas of red, grey, and yellow plumage, especially in the tail feathers. Studies based on the

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...

12S gene fragment suggested that other sexually dichromatic species, the gang-gang cockatoo and the

cockatiel The cockatiel (; ''Nymphicus hollandicus''), also known as the weero/weiro or quarrion, is a medium-sized parrot that is a member of its own branch of the cockatoo family endemic to Australia. They are prized as exotic household pets and compa ...

may be the closest living relatives of ''Calyptorhynchus''. However, subsequent studies, including more genes confirm the morphological taxonomy with the gang-gang cockatoo most closely related to the

galah The galah (; ''Eolophus roseicapilla''), less commonly known as the pink and grey cockatoo or rose-breasted cockatoo, is an Australian species of cockatoo and the only member of the genus ''Eolophus''. The galah is adapted to a wide variety of m ...

, within the white cockatoo group, and with the

as a third distinct subfamily of cockatoos. The

Yellow-tailed black cockatoo The yellow-tailed black cockatoo (''Zanda funerea'') is a large cockatoo native to the south-east of Australia measuring in length. It has a short crest on the top of its head. Its plumage is mostly brownish black and it has prominent yellow ...

Baudin's black cockatoo Baudin's black cockatoo (''Zanda baudinii''), also known as Baudin's cockatoo or the long-billed black cockatoo, is a species of genus '' Zanda'' found in southwest Australia. The epithet commemorates the French explorer Nicolas Baudin. It has a ...

and

Carnaby's black cockatoo Carnaby's black cockatoo (''Zanda latirostris''), also known as the short-billed black cockatoo, is a large Zanda (bird), black cockatoo endemic to southwest Australia. It was described in 1948 by natural history, naturalist Ivan Carnaby. Meas ...

were previously included in ''Calyptorhynchus'' as subgenus ''Zanda''. However, based on genetic divergence '' Zanda'' was recognised as a genus and the three species transferred out of ''Calyptorhynchus''.

References

Further reading