Oceanic Parrot

Open encyclopedia reference

The oceanic eclectus (Eclectus infectus) is an extinct parrot species which occurred on Tonga, Vanuatu and possibly on Fiji. Its closest living relative is the Moluccan eclectus (E. roratus sensu lato), which has proportionally larger wings than the oceanic eclectus parrot. The fossil material unearthed in November 1989 in Late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits on 'Eua, Lifuka, 'Uiha and Vanuatu and described in 2006 by David William Steadman include a complete femur, five radii, a quadrate bone, a mandible, a coracoid, two sterna, two humeri, two ulnae, two tibiotarsi, a carpometacarpus, a tarsometatarsus, and three pedal phalanges. The oceanic eclectus parrot became extinct on Tonga during the early settlement 3,000 years ago, presumably due to human-caused factors. On Vava'u, it may have survived into historic times because among the drawings which were created in 1793 during Alessandro Malaspina's Pacific expedition, there is one sketch which appears to portray an Oceanic eclectus. Fossil remains of the oceanic eclectus have been found in archaeological sites in the islands of Tonga and Vanuatu. The species presumably existed in Fiji, as well. E.

Wikipedia contributors, Oceanic eclectus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:07:22.257181+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Eclectus infectus Steadman, 2006

Name authority

Steadman, 2006

Common name

Oceanic Parrot

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Psittaciformes

Family

Psittaculidae

Genus

Eclectus

Extinction status

Recorded extinct

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderPsittaciformes
10. familyPsittaculidae
11. genusEclectus Wagler, 1832
12. speciesEclectus infectus Steadman, 2006

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Eclectus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 155 records assigned to Psittaculidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1223180 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:C42F3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.