French naturalist
Alcide d'Orbigny described the crested quetzal in 1837 as
Trogon antisianus. The species name is derived from
Antis, a
Latinised version of the Andes, ultimately from
anti, an Incan word for copper. It is closely related to the
resplendent quetzal (
P. mocinno). It is one of five species of the genus
Pharomachrus known as
quetzals. The term "quetzal" was originally used for just the resplendent quetzal, but is now applied to all members of the genera
Pharomachrus and
Euptilotis. == Description ==