Proposal (333) to South American Classification Committee
Use of Pyrilia
over Gypopsitta
On the basis of mtDNA sequence data, Ribas et al. (2005) removed
several species of South and Middle American parrots from the genus Pionopsitta
Bonaparte, 1854 and placed them in the genus Gypopsitta Bonaparte,
1856 (type species Psittacus vulturinus Kuhl, 1820). Among the species
moved to Gypopsitta was pyrilia Bonaparte (originally Psittacula
pyrilia Bonaparte, 1853), which is the type species of the genus Pyrilia
Bonaparte, 1856. Both Gypopsitta and Pyrilia have been recognized
by various authors in the past 150 years, but generally both have been
submerged in Pionopsitta. Ribas et al. (2005) were the first to place
the two type species in the same genus for which one of the names must be used.
Citations for the generic names Pyrilia and Gypopsitta by
Salvadori (1891), Ridgway (1916), Cory (1918), and Peters (1937) suggest that
they were published simultaneously, in which case action of a first reviser
(I.C.Z.N. 1999, Article 24.2) would be necessary to choose which should be
used, an action not taken by Ribas et al. (2005). They stated: "The name Gypopsitta is
equally as old as other available names, and because it has previously been
used for a species in this clade [vulturina], it maintains a semblance
of nomenclatural stability."
However, a card in the C. W. Richmond card files of generic and
specific names of birds, housed in the Division of Birds at the U.S. National
Museum, gives a different citation for the name Pyrilia Bonaparte,
1856: "Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. [Paris], tome 42, No. 20, [not earlier
than May 19] 1856, p. 956, footnote." This paper by Bonaparte is a
discussion of several species of "gallinaceous" birds (francolins and
tinamous), including the naming of Nothocercus sallæi. In a footnote
dedicating this species to the collector Auguste Sallé, Bonaparte goes on to
discuss various specimens in a collection sent by Sallé and, apparently, other
material that happened to be at hand. This footnote, which occupies most of the
last three pages of the paper, includes the statement:
"Faisons
observer, apropos de cette espèce du Mexique et de Venezuela à la fois, qu'une
autre bien plus brillante, notre pyrilia, forme maintenant avec l'amazonina,
O. des Murs, notre genre Pyrilia; et que cette Pyrilia
typica, Bp., n'a rien de commun avec Psittacus euops Wagl."
This constitutes the naming of a genus Pyrilia (I.C.Z.N.
1999, Art. 12.2.5).
The name Pyrilia, published in May, has priority over Gypopsitta,
published in August (Whitsell 1945) and must be used when the two type species
are placed in the same genus (except for one named even earlier, such as Pionopsitta).
I plan to place the following paragraph in the 49th Supplement to the AOU
Check-list of North American Birds, to be published in July 2008:
"On the basis
of mtDNA sequence data, Ribas et al. (2005) removed several species of South
and Middle American parrots from the genus Pionopsitta Bonaparte, 1854
and placed them in the genus Gypopsitta Bonaparte,1856 (type species Psittacus
vulturinus Kuhl, 1820). Among these species was P. pyrilia Bonaparte,
which is the type species of the genus Pyrilia Bonaparte, 1856. Most
citations for these generic names (e.g. Cory 1918, Peters 1937) indicate that
they originate from the same paper, but Pyrilia was named
earlier in 1856 in a different paper and must be used when the two type species
are placed in the same genus."
I recommend that the SACC also use Pyrilia rather than Gypopsitta
for the species removed from Pionopsitta by Ribas et al. The generic
heading is:
Genus Pyrilia Bonaparte
Pyrilia Bonaparte, 1856 (not earlier than 19 May), Compt. Rend.
Acad. Sci. Paris 42:956. Type, by original designation and tautonomy, Psittacula
pyrilia Bonaparte.
Gypopsitta Bonaparte, 1856 (August), Naumannia, Beilage no. 1, Consp.
Psitt., genus 25. Type, by monotypy, Psittacus vulturinus Wagler = Psittacus
vulturinus Kuhl.
Literature Cited
BONAPARTE,
C.-L. 1856. Tabellarische Uebersicht der Papageien.
Conspectus Psittacorum. Beilage 1. Naumannia, 1856. [8 unnumbered pages between
382 and 383].
BONAPARTE,
le Prince Ch. 1856. Note sur les Tableaux des Gallinacés. Comptes Rendus Acad.
Sci. Paris 42:953-957.
CORY, C. B.
1918. Catalogue of birds of the Americas. Field Museum of Natural History
Publications, Zoological Series, vol. 13, part. 2, no. 1.
INTERNATIONAL
COMMISSION on ZOOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE. 1999. International Code of Zoological
Nomenclature. Fourth ed. International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.
London.
PETERS, J.
L. 1937. Check-list of birds of the world. Vol. 3. Harvard University Press,
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
RIBAS, C.
C., R. GABAN-LIMA, C. Y. MIYAKI, AND J. CRACRAFT. 2005. Historical biogeography
and diversification within the Neotropical parrot genus Pionopsitta (Aves:
Psittacidae). Journal Biogeography 32:1409-1427.
RIDGWAY, R.
1901. The birds of North and Middle America. Bulletin of the United States
National Museum, no. 50, pt. 7.
SALVADORI,
T. 1891. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or parrots, in the collection of the
British Museum. British Museum (Natural History). London.
WHITELL, H.
M. 1954. The literature of Australian birds. Paterson Brokensha Pty., Ltd.
Perth, Australia.
Richard C.
Banks, February 2008
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Comments from Zimmer: "YES. On the basis of
priority, there seems to be little choice but to use Pyrilia."
Comments from Stiles: "YES - with the question of
priority finally settled, there seems to be a clear mandate for use of Pyrilia."
Comments from Nores: "YES. Banks ha documentado bien la prioridad de Pyrilia sobre Gypopsitta,
cosa no hecha por Ribas et al. en su artículo, en el cual claramente se
demuestra que Pionopsitta pileata no está relacionada con el resto de
las especies que estaban en el género."
Comments from Jaramillo: "YES - This seems a straight
forward issue of priority. Fortunately, we did not give Gypopsitta time
to take hold."