Baillonius bailloni
| Saffron toucanet | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Piciformes |
| Family: | Ramphastidae |
| Genus: | Pteroglossus |
| Species: | P. bailloni |
| Binomial name | |
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Pteroglossus bailloni (Vieillot, 1819) |
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| Synonyms | |
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The saffron toucanet (Pteroglossus bailloni) is a species of bird in the family Ramphastidae found in the Atlantic Forest in far north-eastern Argentina, south-eastern Brazil, and eastern Paraguay.
This species' scientific name honors Louis Antoine François Baillon. The saffron toucanet was originally described in the genus Ramphastos and has also been placed in the genus Andigena by some authorities. It was formerly placed in the monotypic genus Baillonius, but Kimura et al. (2004) were able to show that the saffron toucanet belongs in the genus Pteroglossus.
In a later study, it was later confirmed by analyzing the molecular sequence of the saffron by Pereira et al. (2008). The finding was supported by vocalization and anatomical characteristics that were similar to other Pteroglossus species.
Alternate names include Baillon's toucan, banana toucan, saffron-colored araçari and yellow toucanet.
It is a relatively long-tailed toucan with a total length of 35–40 cm (14–16 in). As suggested by its common name, it is, uniquely among toucans, overall saffron yellow. The back and tail are darker, more olive in color. The rump, ocular skin and patches on the basal half of the otherwise greenish-horn bill are red. The iris is pale yellowish.
This species is dimorphic, meaning that males and females have distinguished looks from each other. The adult male has a golden head and breast, olive mantle (the wings, shoulder feathers and back) and red rump. They have a modestly sized bill, with green, grey blue, and yellowish-grey color all along it. Adult females are similar to the male but have more olive and less gold coloration; they also have a shorter bill. A young toucanet is mostly olive and grey colored, with brown eyes and a blotchy bill.
The saffron is found in the Atlantic Forest. The viridis group, a superspecies group that includes the saffron, was separated from the other Pteroglossus group around 3 million years ago. The topologies observed in the study showed the saffron toucanet as a member of the Pteroglossus viridis group instead of a sister lineage to all other Pteroglossus. The saffron is separated from the other species in the viridis group by the Brazilian savanna biome. It is thought that this species is part of an ancient stock that became isolated in the current Atlantic Forest from marine transgression and were not able to adapt and invade the Brazilian savanna.
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