Channel-billed Toucan - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

The subspecies were previously considered separate species, but all interbreed freely wherever they meet. These are the Yellow-ridged Toucan (R. culminatus; now R. vitellinus culminatus), the Citron-throated Toucan (R. citreolaemus; now R. vitellinus citreolaemus) and the Ariel Toucan (R. ariel; now R. vitellinus ariel). However, the subspecies R. v. ariel is closer to R. v. culminatus than to the nominate, and are by some already considered close to distinct species status. As R. v. ariel was described before R. v. culminatus, if separated they would become Ramphastos ariel ariel and R. a. culminatus. There also exists an isolated population in eastern Brazil. It looks very similar to, and has traditionally been considered part of, R. v. ariel, but molecular analysis suggests that it has been isolated for a long time and is a yet-undescribed separate subspecies or possibly even species (Weckstein, 2005).