Does the taxonomy of Primolius auricollis (Aves, Psittaciformes, Psittacidae) mirror the congruent patterns of avian species pairs on the Pantanal basin and the Araguaia/Tocantins interfluve? An analysis based on morphological and molecular characters

• Grant number: 23/08050-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2023
• End date: July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Luís Fábio Silveira
• Grantee: Maria Clara Felix Irumé
• Host Institution: Museu de Zoologia (MZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Primolius auricollis (Yellow-collared Macaw, Psittaciformes, Psittacidae) is a monotypic species of the Arinae subfamily, with records in many South American countries. In Brazil, it occurs mainly on the Cerrado, but with two distinct populations: the northern one, bordering the Tocantins and Araguaia rivers, through the north of the states of Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Goiás, and Pará; and the southern one, near the Pantanal, through the south of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Rondônia, and therefore it is observable a 500 km gap between the two subpopulations. The same disjunct Pantanal-Araguaia/Tocantins distribution is also found in other avian species pairs from different orders and families, such as Cercomacra ferdinandi and C. melanaria; Phaethornis maranhaoensis and P. nattereri; Paroaria capitata and P. baeri; and Synallaxis albilora and S. simoni. Two subspecies of Furnarius leucopus also share a similar distribution, with F. l. tricolor at the south and F. l. araguaiae at the north, and therefore this distribution pattern is considered recurrent. Disjunct populations within a single species tend to accumulate genetic differences since there isn't genetic flux between them and, depending on how different they become, can be assigned as distinct subspecies or even distinct species. In light of this, the objective of this study is to review the taxonomy of the species by analyzing morphological data and molecular data and also bring more knowledge on the populations' structure and the biogeographic processes responsible for the existing distribution of the species.