''Psephotellus'' is a genus of medium sized Australian parrots. Four species found across the country are recognised, one is presumed to have become extinct.
Description
All species show considerable
sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...
. These species have traditionally been placed in the genus ''Psephotus'' along with the
red-rumped parrot
The red-rumped parrot (''Psephotus haematonotus''), also known as the red-backed parrot or grass parrot, is a common bird of south-eastern Australia, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Taxonomy
The red-rumped parrot was described by Joh ...
, but a molecular study analysing nuclear and
mitochondrial DNA found that the red-rumped parrot was an early offshoot in a clade of several genera of
broad-tailed parrot, with the other species nested deeply within.
Taxonomy
The genus was first proposed by
Gregory Mathews
Gregory Macalister Mathews CBE FRSE FZS FLS (10 September 1876 – 27 March 1949) was an Australian-born amateur ornithologist who spent most of his later life in England.
Life
He was born in Biamble in New South Wales the son of Robert H. M ...
in 1913, nominating the paradise parrot
''Platycercus pulcherrimus'' Gould as the type and forming a new combination as ''Psephotellus pulcherrimus''.
Diversity and distribution
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q21995346
Broad-tailed parrots
Bird genera