The genus
Psittacula was introduced in 1800 by the French naturalist
Georges Cuvier. The
type species was designated in 1923 by
Gregory Mathews as the
red-breasted parakeet. The name of the genus is a diminutive of the
Latin word
psittacus for a "parrot". The genus includes 16 species, of which three are extinct. • †
Newton's parakeet,
Psittacula exsul -
extinct (c.1875) •
Echo parakeet,
Psittacula eques • †
Réunion parrot,
Psittacula eques eques -
extinct mid-18th century • †
Mascarene grey parakeet,
Psittacula bensoni -
extinct (c.1764) (formerly classified in genus †
Lophopsittacus, and still considered such by some authorities) •
Rose-ringed parakeet,
Psittacula krameri •
Alexandrine parakeet,
Psittacula eupatria • †
Seychelles parakeet,
Psittacula wardi -
extinct (1883) •
Plum-headed parakeet,
Psittacula cyanocephala •
Blossom-headed parakeet,
Psittacula roseata •
Slaty-headed parakeet,
Psittacula himalayana •
Grey-headed parakeet,
Psittacula finschii •
Blue-winged parakeet,
Psittacula columboides •
Layard's parakeet,
Psittacula calthrapae •
Lord Derby's parakeet,
Psittacula derbiana •
Red-breasted parakeet,
Psittacula alexandri (also called moustached parrot) •
Long-tailed parakeet,
Psittacula longicauda •
Nicobar parakeet,
Psittacula caniceps Alternative taxonomy }} }} Genetic evidence has found that the genus
Psittacula is likely
paraphyletic; for example, genetic analysis has supported merging short-tailed parrots of the genus
Tanygnathus, Psittinus, and the extinct
Mascarinus with
Psittacula. A revised classification was proposed by Michael Braun and coworkers in 2019 that splits the genus
Psittacula into multiple
monophyletic genera in order to preserve
Tanygnathus, Psittinus, and
Mascarinus as distinct genera. After the proposed split, the only remaining species in
Psittacula sensu stricto are
P. derbiana,
P. caniceps, and
P. alexandri. This is also the taxonomic system followed by the
IUCN Red List and
BirdLife International. The list of split or monophyletic genera and species (and any of their allied species) is displayed below: • Genus
Himalayapsitta •
Plum-headed parakeet,
Himalayapsitta cyanocephala •
Grey-headed parakeet,
Himalayapsitta finschii •
Slaty-headed parakeet,
Himalayapsitta himalayana •
Blossom-headed parakeet,
Himalayapsitta roseata • Genus
Nicopsitta •
Blue-winged parakeet,
Nicopsitta columboides •
Layard's parakeet,
Nicopsitta calthrapae • Genus
Belocercus •
Long-tailed parakeet,
Belocercus longicauda • Genus
Psittacula •
Red-breasted parakeet,
Psittacula alexandri •
Lord Derby's parakeet,
Psittacula derbiana •
Nicobar parakeet,
Psittacula caniceps • Genus
Palaeornis •
Alexandrine parakeet,
Palaeornis eupatria • †
Seychelles parakeet,
Palaeornis wardi • Genus
Alexandrinus •
Rose-ringed parakeet,
Alexandrinus krameri • †
Newton's parakeet,
Alexandrinus exsul •
Echo parakeet,
Alexandrinus (eques) echo • Genus
Tanygnathus •
Great-billed parrot,
Tanygnathus megalorynchos •
Blue-naped parrot,
Tanygnathus lucionensis •
Blue-backed parrot,
Tanygnathus sumatranus •
Black-lored parrot,
Tanygnathus gramineus • Genus
Psittinus •
Blue-rumped parrot,
Psittinus cyanurus •
Simeulue parrot,
Psittinus abbotti • Genus †
Mascarinus • †
Mascarene parrot,
Mascarinus mascarin • Genus †
Lophopsittacus • †
Mauritius grey parrot,
Lophopsittacus bensoni The extinct Mascarene grey parrot (
P. bensoni) was not sampled in the study and has not been reclassified to
Psittacula sensu lato by the IUCN or BirdLife, so it is still classified in
Lophopsittacus under this taxonomy and with the common name Mauritius grey parrot. The Nicobar parrot(
P. caniceps) was also not sampled but kept in
Psittacula by the authorities that incorporated this taxonomy. The study has also found that the rose-ringed and red-breasted parrots are likely paraphyletic species themselves, and thus need to be split into multiple species. The taxonomy of the
Réunion parakeet P. eques is also confusing. Extinct since 1770, little evidence even exists of the bird's existence. A study skin had been discovered at the Royal Museum of Scotland, explicitly referencing a book description of the Réunion birds. It is known from other descriptions, as well as illustrations of which it is unknown whether they were drawn from live or stuffed specimens. This may be the only material proof of these birds' existence. Taxonomists are unsure if the birds were a distinct species, or conspecific with the
echo parakeet, although genetic analysis supports it being a
subspecies of the echo parakeet. ==References==