Psittaciformes - Pyrrhura - Madeira Conure

Medeira Conure - Pyrrhura Snethlageae - Vulnerable

The Medeira Conure - pyrrhura snethlageae is currently considered a subspecies of the Painted Conure. There are multiple subspecies that may eventually be designated as separate species. Currently this is referred to as the Pyrrhura Picta Complex

Taxonomy and Distribution

It has typically been considered a subspecies of the painted parakeet. While reviewing this group, Joseph (2002) discovered that an undescribed population existed in central Brazil (later also found in north-eastern Bolivia). It was described as Pyrrhura snethlageae (Joseph and Bates, 2002). No diagnostic difference was found between the taxa amazonum and microtera; it was therefore recommend that the latter should be considered a junior synonym of the former. As with most other taxa of the Pyrrhura picta complex, it was recommended that amazonum should be recognized as a monotypic species, P. amazonum, instead of a subspecies of P. picta. Ribas et al. (2006) confirmed by mtDNA that P. amazonum should be considered a species separate from P. picta (otherwise, P. picta would be paraphyletic), but also showed that snethlageae was very close to, and arguably better considered a subspecies of, P. amazonum (as already had been expected due to a number of intermediate specimens suggesting that hybrids occur). Consequently, SACC voted to recognize P. amazonum as a species with snethlageae as a subspecies. Arndt (2008) recently described yet another taxon from this complex, lucida, as a subspecies of P. snethlageae, but under the here used taxonomy, it becomes a subspecies of P. amazonum. The taxonomic status in relations to Deville's parakeet remains unclear.