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The Extinct Cuban and Hispaniolan Macaws (Ara, Psittacidae), and Description of a New Species, Ara Cubensis

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The Extinct Cuban and Hispaniolan Macaws (Ara, Psittacidae), and Description of a New Species, Ara Cubensis THE EXTINCT CUBAN AND HISPANIOLAN MACAWS (ARA, PSITTACIDAE), AND DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES, ARA CUBENSIS D AVID K ENNETH W ETHERBEE Reynolds Road Shelburne, MA 01370 A BSTRACT The former existence of an extinct macaw of Hispaniola, Ara tricolor Bechstein 1811 in addition to the extinct macaw of Cuba, Ara cubensis n. sp. is demonstrated through an analysis of the litera- ture. Ara tricolor was of the same superspecies as the extinct macaw of Cuba, Ara cubensis but had a white rather than an ochraceous, bare facial area and cere, and was somewhat smaller (6 to 8 mm.) in the size of the bill. Ara tricolor became extinct about 1820. As the name Ara tricolor Bechstein 1811 was founded upon an Hispaniolan specimen, a name is required for the Cuban macaw: Ara cubensis n. sp. Further, I suggest that Ara gossei Rothschild 1905, of Jamaica, is not a valid species but instead was probably a “tapire” artifact, a specimen altered in its coloration by an Amerindian technique. uba and Hispaniola each had macaws, Antonio Gonzales of the Nicolaus Baudin C but neither species survived into the voyage to Puerto Rico and Hispaniola (which 20th Century. The last example of the ma- voyage is analized by Wetherbee (1985)). caw of Cuba (Ara cubensis new species) Following are the historical landmarks in the was shot in 1864 (Bangs & Zappey 1905), discovery of, and the discrimination be- whereas the last observation of the macaw tween, the Hispaniolan and Cuban macaws: of Hispaniola (Ara tricolor Bechstein 1811) Hispaniolan macaws.-- was made in 1820 by Carl Ritter (1836). 1630.-- I agree with Juan L. de Armas There are 15 specimens of these birds. I be- (1888) and Greenway (1967) who indicated lieve all these specimens are from Cuba but that the psittacines mentioned by Bartolome will mention possible exceptions beyond. I de las Casas (1630) referred to Ara and not contend and will develop later that the type to Amazona. Greenway said, “Las Casas upon which Johann Bechstein [1811; ex says that there were three kinds of parrots Francois Levaillant (1801-1805)] founded on the island [Hispaniola], a large, a smaller, Ara tricolor was a macaw of Hispaniola. The and a very small one, by which it may in- macaw of Cuba, therefore, is without a name. ferred that he meant the macaw, the parrot Levaillant had seen, and perhaps later ac- (Amazona ventralis), and the small conure quired, a specimen of Ara in the Paris Mu- (Aratinga chloroptera). Probably he meant seum on which his illustration and descrip- the red macaw...” Casas (1630) stated, tion were based. I will attempt to show that “Los mayores se Ilamaban por los indios hi- that specimen was collected about 1798 by guacas, la silaba de en medio Iuenga, y estos difieren de los de otras islas en que tienen sobre el pico o la frente blanco, no verde ni colorado. Los de esta especie que hay en la Carib. J. Sci. 21(3-4): 169-175 (1985) 169 170 D. K. WETHERBEE isla Cuba tienen sobre el pico o frente co- rum), Antillean euphonia (Euphonia musica), Iorado.” and Hispaniolan trogon (Temnotrogon ro- 1722.--Labat (1722), who was in Hispa- seigaster). The mystery is how the 39 poten- niola between 1693 and 1705 includes a tial surrogate types in the Rabid collection depiction of a psittacine (Book 4, Page 496) escaped notice (Wetherbee ms. a). perched atop a shed in Hispaniola that seems Buffon (1779) believed “ara rouge” and to be an Ara. Various versions of this illustra- “peit ara rouge” were varieties of the same tion depict an entirely different species of species. (Note: Clark (1905) makes an erro- bird. Pending further research into the va- neous reference to Brisson (1760) regarding lidity of the illustration, this evidence is not “petit ara rouge”, when he intended, in- accepted here. stead, Buffon (1779 ).) 1779.--Edme Daubenton in Buffon (1779) 1788.--Petrus G. Lindroth (Lonnberg illustrated (plate 12) a member of the 1929), in cataloging the bird collection of Macao-Group of macaws, “ara rouge”, prob- Adolf U. Grill, shows” No. 413. Psittacus ably Ara macao, and plate 641, a smaller Aracanga, Le Petit Ara rouge”. This bird is member, “petit ara rouge” which was a now in the Stockholm museum. The prob- macaw “aux Antilles”, usually, correctly be- able origin of the specimen is a complex mat- lieved to be Ara tricolor. Buffon wrote: ter which will be elucidated elsewhere En general, Ies aras etoient autrefois tres- (Wetherbee, ms. c). Whether it is Cuban or Hispaniolan remains to be determined. Alter- communs a Saint-Domingue. Je vois, par native hypotheses would make it either a une Iettre de M. de Ie chevalier Deshayes, Franz Maerter Haitian specimen, pirated by que depuis que Ies etablissemens francois Capt. N. Baudin from an Austrian expedition, ont ete pousses jusque sur Ie sommet des montagnes, ces oiseaux y sont moins fre- or an Olof Swartz specimen from either Haiti quens.” Buff on was a correspondent of or Cuba. If Haitian, it is probably the sole existing representative of Ara tricolor. Deshayes in Haiti, and Deshayes sent him paintings and much information about 1796.--The Baudin voyage and its implica- Haitian birds. There is no known source of tions. Andre-Pierre Ledru (1810) in his list of Haitian specimens (Chervain’s contributions “Puerto Rican” bird skins in the Paris Mu- of skins from Haiti to Rend-Antoine Re- seum taken by the Baudin voyage, included aumer, Abbe Aubry, and Dr. Antoine-Remi “Le petit ara rouge, Ara aracanga.” The de- Mathurin were already well worked over by terminations on that list were made by Fran- Brisson (1760) or of drawings, except po- cois M. Daudin, not by botanist Ledru, a dec- tentially de Rabie’s (1770-1785) ms.) at ade earlier. A footnote states that the Latin Cap “Haitian, I conclude that Buffon had a names, if not otherwise indicated as to painting of Deshayes’ or Rabie’s of this ma- author, came from Daudin (1799) and one of caw, copied by Daubenton. There are Rabie the species in the list, Loxia portoricensis, paintings of Hispaniolan Aratinga and Ama- which Daudin had already described (1800), zona, depicted from life, in the McGill Uni- still bore the designation “nouvelle espece”. versity Library, but none of Ara. As Cuvier I have recently shown (Wetherbee, mss. and Valenciennes (1828-1849) had seen a a&b) that Ledru’s list is a composite of speci- painting of a fish, “aigrette vivaneau” (Lach- mens taken in Puerto Rico and (covertly) in nolaimus maximus Walbaum 1792), “fait au Hispaniola by the Baudin voyage. Included Cap-Francois de Saint-Domingue” dated were several Hispaniolan endemic birds 1771, which must have been a Rabie paint- (Wetmore and Swales, 1931, notwithstand- ing (he produced many of fishes in that ing); for example, “Le tangara ou I’esclave, year), some of Rabie’s bird paintings must Tangara Dominica” (= palmchat, Dulus do- have reached Paris at that time. minicus). I have recently examined secret re- It must not be coincidental that of the 55 ports (Wetherbee 1985) that prove the explo- birds represented in the Haitian portfolio of ration of Hispaniola by two naturalists of the Rabie in the McGill Library, none of the doz- Baudin voyage (Advenier and Hogard). Des- en common species that Buff on attributed to courtilz (1809) also gave an account of meet- Deshayes’ drawings appear. I believe that ing these two naturalists in Haiti in 1799, Deshayes pirated from Rabie the pictures along with a third, Capt. Baudin’s painter seen by Buffon and that “petit ara rouge” and zoologist, Antonio Gonzales. Further, was among them as well as the surrogate ty- the known collections of the Baudin voyage pes for the palm warbler (Dendroica palma- contain many endemic butterflies (e.g. Anar- EXTINCT MACAWS 171 tea Lytrea Godart 1819), endemic beetles the hands of dealer, Jules Verreaux, and was (e.g. Hogardia roussatra Lepeletier 1845) thought to have come from “Vera Cruz”, and endemic land-mollusks (e.g. Polydontes Mexico, obviously an error for “St. Croix”. obliterata Ferussac 1821). It is axiomatic that Puerto Rican and Hispa- The expedition which left France on 3 Oc- niolan endemics first described between tober 1796 on the Belle Angelique returned 1800-1820 were Baudin voyage specimens to France aboard the Triomphe on 7 June (however disguised). All Hispaniolan mate- 1798, after exploring the Virgin Islands, Tri- rials taken on that voyage, without excep- nidad, and Puerto Rico. The three natural- tion, were deliberately obfuscated in one ists, Advenier, Hogard and Gonzales were way or another by the staff at the Paris Mu- left behind to do further collecting and es- seum. This conspiracy was based on the es- pionage for the French government. Profes- pionage aspect of that leg of the voyage, sor Lamarck of the Paris Museum dates his together with Capt. Baudin’s well-founded receipt (Ledru 1810) of the invertebrate reputation as a pirate (Michaud 1811, Ord collection as 4 March 1799. Daudin describ- 1849). I posit, too, that some of this mate- ed the first new bird from the voyage in rial was stolen by Baudin from the Maerter 1800. voyage. Upon receipt of the 700 bird skins from During the first decade, there were scur- the expedition, Daudin was charged with rilous thefts and exchanges of Baudin voy- arranging them in the Paris Museum gallery. age specimens which were then given falsi- From this curatorial effort arose Daudin’s fied type-localities. The unusual were the “Tableau des Oiseaux”, edited by Lacepede, first to disappear.
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