Darwin's Rhea - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

There are three subspecies:

• R. p. garleppi is found in the puna of southeastern Peru, southwestern Bolivia, and northwestern Argentina.
• R. p. tarapacensis is found in the puna of northern Chile from the region of Arica and Parinacota to Antofagasta.
• R. p. pennata is found in the Patagonian steppes of Argentina and Chile.

It has been suggested that the two northern taxa R. p. tarapacensis and R. p. garleppi should be considered a separate species, the Puna Rhea (R. tarapacensis, with garleppi as a subspecies). Both garleppi and tarapacensis were described by Charles Chubb in 1913. It is possible garleppi should be considered a junior synonym of tarapacensis.