Origin and diversification of the genera Aratinga, Eupsittula and Psittacara (Aves: Psittacidae)

Abstract

AbstractThe arrival of psittacines in North America is well known but undefined. It is widely accepted that the origin of these birds occurred in South America, and it has been suggested that different factors have promoted the biodiversity of birds in Mexico. However, in general, for North American psittacines there are no proposed divergence times and the possible influence of different geological events on these processes is unknown. In this study, phylogenetic relationships, divergence times and the ancestral areas of the generaAratinga,EupsittulaandPsittacaraand related genera were estimated to propose hypotheses of origin, diversification, and dispersal of groups under a Bayesian inference framework, based on mitochondrial molecular markers. We found that of the seven monophyletic clades within the Arini tribe, four coincided with the generaPsittacara,Eupsittula,Rhynchopsitta, andPyrrhura, and three clades were integrated by different genera. The generaAratingaandEupsittulaoriginated during the Miocene, and the genusPsittacaraoriginated at the Miocene-Pliocene boundary.Aratingais the oldest, followed byEupsittulaand the youngest isPsittacara.Biogeographic reconstruction suggests that the most likely origin of these genera is the Amazonian or Chaco regions. The diversification of these groups is related to geo-climatic events associated with the uplift of the central and northern portions of the Andes and the closure of the Isthmus of Panama. We propose dispersion routes from south to north in the Neotropics and the use of the Greater and Lesser Antilles as a northward path.