Aracari Explained

An aracari or araçari (^[1],)^[2] is any of the medium-sized toucans that, together with the saffron toucanet, make up the genus Pteroglossus.

They are brightly plumaged and have enormous, contrastingly patterned bills. These birds are residents in forests and woodlands in the Neotropics.

Taxonomy

The genus Pteroglossus was introduced in 1811 by the German zoologist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger.^[3] The name combines the Ancient Greek pteron meaning "feather" with glōssa meaning "tongue".^[4] George Robert Gray designated the black-necked aracari as the type species of the genus in 1840.^{[5] [6]}

The name "Aracari" was used in 1648 by the German naturalist Georg Marcgrave for the black-necked aracari in his book Historia Naturalis Brasiliae.^[7] The name comes from the word Arassari, the name of the bird in the Tupi language.^[8]

One species, the distinctive saffron toucanet, was formerly placed in the monotypic genus Baillonius, but Renato Kimura and collaborators showed in 2004 that it belongs in the genus Pteroglossus.^{[9] [10]}

A 2010 molecular phylogenetic study by Swati Patel and collaborators found that the brown-mandibled aracari was nested with the subspecies of the ivory-billed aracari:^[11]

Extant species

Fourteen species are considered to belong to the genus Pteroglossus:^[12]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Pteroglossus viridis		lowland forests of northeastern South America (the Guiana Shield), in the northeast Amazon Basin, the Guianas and the eastern Orinoco River drainage of Venezuela
	Pteroglossus inscriptus		Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru
	Pteroglossus bitorquatus		Bolivia and Brazil
	Pteroglossus azara		Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela
	Pteroglossus mariae		Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru
	Pteroglossus aracari		Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela
	Pteroglossus castanotis		Amazon Basin, Paraguay, Bolivia, southeastern Brazil and the extreme northeast of Argentina
	Pteroglossus pluricinctus		Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela
	Pteroglossus torquatus		southern Mexico to Panama; also Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Costa Rica
	Pteroglossus sanguineus		Colombia and Ecuador
	Pteroglossus erythropygius		Ecuador and Peru
	Pteroglossus frantzii		southern Costa Rica and western Panama
	Pteroglossus beauharnaisii		Amazon Basin
	Pteroglossus bailloni		Brazil

Former species

Some authorities, either presently or formerly, recognize additional species or subspecies as species belonging to the genus Pteroglossus including:

• Wagler's toucanet (as Pteroglossus wagleri)^[13]
• Emerald toucanet (as Pteroglossus prasinus)^[14]
• White-throated toucanet (as Pteroglossus albivitta)^[15]
• Black-throated toucanet (as Pteroglossus atrogularis)^[16]
• Groove-billed toucanet (as Pteroglossus sulcatus)^[17]
• Crimson-rumped toucanet (as Pteroglossus haematopygus)^[18]
• Guianan toucanet (as Pteroglossus Culik)^[19]
• Golden-collared toucanet (as Pteroglossus reinwardtii)^[20]
• Langsdorff's toucanet (as Pteroglossus langsdorffii)^[21]
• Tawny-tufted toucanet (as Pteroglossus nattereri)^[22]
• Gould's toucanet (as Pteroglossus gouldii)^[23]
• Spot-billed toucanet (as Pteroglossus maculirostris)^[24]
• Gray-breasted mountain toucan (as Pteroglossus hypoglaucus)^[25]
• Hooded mountain toucan (as Pteroglossus cucullatus)^[26]
• Black-billed mountain toucan (as Pteroglossus nigrirostris)^[27]

Behaviour and ecology

Some species of aracaris are unusual for toucans in that they roost socially throughout the year, up to six adults and fledged young sleeping in the same hole with tails folded over their backs.

Breeding

They are arboreal and nest in tree holes laying 2 - 4 white eggs.

Food and feeding

All the species are basically fruit-eating, but will take insects and other small prey.

Threats

The ischnoceran louse Austrophilopterus flavirostris is suspected to parasitize most if not all species of aracaris, with the possible exception of the green aracari (Price & Weckstein 2005).

References

• Price, Roger D. & Weckstein, Jason D. (2005): The genus Austrophilopterus Ewing (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae) from toucans, toucanets, and araçaris (Piciformes: Ramphastidae). Zootaxa 918: 1–18. PDF fulltext

Notes and References

1. Web site: Aracari . Dictionary.com Unabridged . Random House, Inc.) . 2012-04-20.
2. Web site: Definition for aracari . Oxford Dictionaries Online . https://archive.today/20120723042825/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/aracari?q=aracari . dead . 2012-07-23 . 2012-04-20 .
3. Book: Illiger, Johann Karl Wilhelm . Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger . 1811 . Prodromus systematis mammalium et avium . Latin . Berolini [Berlin] . Sumptibus C. Salfeld . 202 .
4. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 322 .
5. Book: Gray, George Robert . George Robert Gray . 1840 . A List of the Genera of Birds : with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus . London . R. and J.E. Taylor . 50 .
6. Book: Peters . James Lee . James L. Peters . 1948 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 6 . Harvard University Press . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 74 .
7. Book: Marcgrave, Georg . Georg Marcgrave . 1648 . Historia Naturalis Brasiliae: Liber Quintus: Qui agit de Avibus . Latin . Lugdun and Batavorum (London and Leiden) . Franciscum Hackium and Elzevirium . 217 .
8. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 52 .
9. Kimura . R.K. . Pereira . S.L. . Grau . E.T. . Höfling . E. . Wajntal . A. . 2004 . Genetic distances and phylogenetic analysis suggest that Baillonius Cassin, 1867 is a Pteroglossus Illiger, 1811 (Piciformes: Ramphastidae) . Ornitologia Neotropical . 15 . 527–537 .
10. Web site: Remsen . J.V. Jr . 2004 . Proposal 151: Merge Baillonius into Pteroglossus . South American Classification Committee, American Ornithologists' Union . 6 September 2022.
11. Patel . S. . Weckstein . J.D. . Patané . J.S.L. . Bates . J.M. . Aleixo . A. . 2011 . Temporal and spatial diversification of Pteroglossus araçaris (AVES: Ramphastidae) in the neotropics: Constant rate of diversification does not support an increase in radiation during the Pleistocene . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 58 . 1 . 105–115 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2010.10.016 . free .
12. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . August 2022 . Jacamars, puffbirds, barbets, toucans, honeyguides . IOC World Bird List Version 12.2 . International Ornithologists' Union . 6 September 2022 .
13. Web site: Aulacorhynchus wagleri - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-24.
14. Web site: Aulacorhynchus prasinus - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-24.
15. Web site: Aulacorhynchus albivitta - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-24.
16. Web site: Aulacorhynchus atrogularis - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-25.
17. Web site: Aulacorhynchus sulcatus - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-25.
18. Web site: Aulacorhynchus haematopygus - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-25.
19. Web site: Selenidera piperivora - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-28.
20. Web site: Selenidera reinwardtii - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-28.
21. Web site: Selenidera reinwardtii langsdorffii - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-28.
22. Web site: Selenidera nattereri - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-28.
23. Web site: Selenidera gouldii - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-28.
24. Web site: Selenidera maculirostris - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-28.
25. Web site: Andigena hypoglauca - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-28.
26. Web site: Andigena cucullata - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-29.
27. Web site: Andigena nigrirostris - Avibase. avibase.bsc-eoc.org. 2016-12-29.