International Journal of Biology; Vol. 8, No. 4; 2016 ISSN 1916-9671 E-ISSN 1916-968X Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education Chromosomal Evolution in Psittaciformes. Revisited A. Villa Rus1, J. C. Cigudosa2,3, J. L. Carrasco Juan1, A. Otero Gómez1, T. Acosta Almeida1, S. Joshua4 & J. L. García Miranda1 1 Service of Cytogenetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain 2 Service of Cytogenetics. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas. C/ Melchor Fernández Almagro, 3, 28029 Madrid, Spain 3 NIMGenetics, Genomics Laboratory, Madrid, Spain 4 The University of Reading, London, England Correspondence: A. Villa Rus, Service of Cytogenetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. Tel: 34-678-495-538. E-mail:
[email protected] Received: August 3, 2016 Accepted: August 25, 2016 Online Published: September 7, 2016 doi:10.5539/ijb.v8n4p34 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v8n4p34 Abstract With colourful plumage, charismatic character and vocal learning abilities, parrots are one of the most striking and recognizable bird groups. Their attractiveness has drawn human attention for centuries, and members of the Psittaciformes order were, also, among the first avian species to be subject to cytogenetic studies which have contributed to understand their taxonomic and evolutionary relationships. We present here the karyological results collected by the study of thirteen parrot species new to karyology. These results are additionally supported by G banded preparations obtained in five species. The order Psittaciformes is an interesting example of a, typically, non migratory avian lineage with Gondwanaland origin, whose evolutionary radiation has been shaped by the Cenozoic geographic and climatic events that affected the land masses derived from the Gondwanaland continental split.