Species of turkey native to (Yucatan Peninsula) Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize
Ocellated turkey
Male, Peten, Guatemala
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Order:
Galliformes
Family:
Phasianidae
Genus:
Meleagris
Species:
M. ocellata
Binomial name
Meleagris ocellata
Cuvier, 1820
Approximate distribution
Synonyms
Agriocharis ocellata
Male; Orange Walk, Belize
The ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata) is a species of turkey residing primarily in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, as well as in parts of Belize and Guatemala. A relative of the North American wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), it was sometimes previously considered in a genus of its own (Agriocharis), but the differences between the two turkeys are currently considered too small to justify generic segregation. It is a relatively large bird, at around 70–122 cm (28–48 in) long and an average weight of 3 kg (6.6 lb) in females and 5 kg (11 lb) in males.
The ocellated turkey lives only in a 130,000 km2 (50,000 sq mi) range in the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico—which includes all or part of the states of Quintana Roo, Campeche, Yucatán, Tabasco, and Chiapas—as well as the northern and western parts of Belize and northern Guatemala.
The ocellated turkey was considered endangered by Mexican authorities as recently as 2002 and has been considered Near Threatened by the IUCN since 2009 (Kampichler et al. 2010). The species is believed to have experienced a decline in response to land use changes and higher than sustainable harvest by migrant workers and subsistence hunters living in the Yucatán Peninsula region of Central America. (Kampichler et al. 2010). A study conducted in the year 2011 indicated that the ocellated turkey made up a substantial amount of the diets of four prominent ethnic groups of the Yucatán Peninsula (Santos et al. 2012).
^BirdLife International (2020). "Meleagris ocellata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22679529A178204994. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22679529A178204994.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
The ocellatedturkey (Meleagris ocellata) is a species of turkey residing primarily in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, as well as in parts of Belize and...
to the domestic turkey, which was originally derived from a southern Mexican subspecies of wild turkey (not the related ocellatedturkey). An adult male...
a Croatian variant of turkey. Turkey genus Wild turkey of North America Domestic turkeyOcellatedturkey, a species of turkey residing primarily in the...
Poultry Association List of turkey meat producing companies in the United States National Turkey Federation OcellatedturkeyTurkey bowling "UF researchers...
Gould's wild turkey subspecies and the ocellatedturkey is known as a "world slam". Depending on local rules and regulations, the wild turkey is hunted either...
the Indian peafowl and the ocellatedturkey. But it eventually was seen as a close relative of modern extant wild turkeys. "The unquestionable geographic...
northern Greenland) to 28°N (Attwater's prairie chicken in Texas). The turkeys are closely allied with grouse, but they have traditionally been excluded...
gleaming scales reminiscent in colour and pattern to those seen in the ocellatedturkey and green peafowl. Each scale is vivid blue at its base and moves through...
clutch size is between 10 and 12 eggs. The ocellatedturkey (Meleagris ocellata), a different species of turkey, currently exists only in a portion of the...
ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, partridges, junglefowl, chickens, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular...
many cases are more closely related to smaller phasianids, grouse, and turkey (formerly classified in Perdicinae, Tetraoninae, and Meleagridinae) than...
hybrid was reported by Edwards in 1761. A hybrid between a turkey and Ocellatedturkey was reported in 1956. Charles Darwin also described duck hybrids in...
species of birds are found in the park, including the crane hawk and the ocellatedturkey. Martin, Simon; Nikolai Grube (2000). Chronicle of the Maya Kings and...
Galliformes. The subfamily includes true pheasants, tragopans, grouse, turkey and similar birds. Although this subfamily was considered monophyletic and...
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