Resplendent quetzal
Taxonomy

The resplendent quetzal was first described by Mexican naturalist Pablo de La Llave in 1832. It is one of five species of the genus Pharomachrus, commonly known as quetzals. Quetzal is usually specifically used to refer to the resplendent, but it typically applies to all members of the genera Pharomachrus and Euptilotis. Some scholars label the crested quetzal as a very close relative of the resplendent, and either suggest the crested quetzal to be a subspecies of the resplendent or the two form a superspecies. The quetzal clade is thought to have spread out from where it emerged in the Andes, the resplendent quetzal being the youngest species. The name of the genus, Pharomachrus, refers to the physical characteristics of the bird, with pharos meaning ' mantle ' and makros meaning 'long' in Ancient Greek. The word 'quetzal' came from Nahuatl (Aztec), where quetzalli (from the root quetza, meaning 'stand') means 'tall upstanding plume' and then 'quetzal tail feather'; from that, Nahuatl quetzaltotōtl means 'quetzal-feather bird' and thus 'quetzal'.

Two subspecies are recognized, P. m. mocinno and P. m. costaricensis, although there is an ongoing debate about whether costaricensis should be recognized as a distinct species. The specific epithet mocinno is a Latinization of the name of the biologist José Mariano M. Mociño, a mentor of his.
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