The extinct Cuban and Hispaniolan macaws (Ara, Psittacidae), and description of a new species, Ara cubensis

Abstract

The former existence of an extinct macaw of Hispaniola, Ara tricolor Bechstein 1811, in addition to the extinct macaw of Cuba, Ara cubensis n. sp., is demonstrated through an analysis of the literature. Ara tricolor was of the same superspecies as the extinct macaw of Cuba, Ara cubensis, but had a white rather than an ochraceous, bare facial area and cere, and was somewhat smaller (6 to 8 mm) in the size of the bill. Ara tricolor became extinct around 1820. As the name Ara tricolor Bechstein 1811 was founded upon a Hispaniolan specimen, a name is required for the Cuban macaw: Ara cubensis n. sp. Further, I suggest that Ara gossei Rothschild 1905, of Jamaica, is not a valid species but was probably a "tapiré" artifact, a specimen altered in its coloration by an Amerindian technique.