Owner Comments:
Our next modern dinosaur is both the first parrot and the first entry in the set that is, sadly, endangered. Say hello to the Puerto Rican Amazon.
The Puerto Rican Amazon is a small parrot, with a length of 11 to 11.8 inches and a weight of between 8.8 to 10.6 ounces. Unlike many other theropod dinosaurs, both extant and those known from fossils, the Puerto Rican Amazon does not exhibit any sexual dimorphism. Males and females are the same size and both sexes are predominately green, with a yellow-green tail and structurally pigmented dark blue flight feathers and covert feathers. The only way to tell the difference between the sexes in this species is with a DNA test or by observing their behaviors during their breeding seasons, where males and females exhibit different behaviors. Even young Puerto Rican Amazons exhibit very similar coloration to the adults.
The Puerto Rican Amazon is also different from many of the modern dinosaurs in the set so far in that it is not a predator. These parrots are herbivores, feeding on fruits, flowers, bark, leaves and nectar obtained from plants in the canopy of the Puerto Rican Amazon’s old-growth forest habitat. They tend to select food items directly in front of them and they hold their food with one foot and consume it rather slowly. Puerto Rican Amazons are moderately fast fliers, with their top speed being 19 MPH.
In the time before European colonization, the Puerto Rican Amazon had a widespread distribution across the islands of Puerto Rico and an estimated population of between 100,000 and 1 million individuals. European colonization changed everything. As the human population of Puerto Rico increased, the old-growth forest habitat of the Puerto Rican Amazon was cleared to make room for human settlements and human crops. As suitable habitat for the Puerto Rican Amazon declined, its food sources declined as well. In an attempt to survive, Puerto Rican Amazons began feeding on human crops which led to humans killing them to protect their crops. The population was further harmed by humans taking young Puerto Rican Amazons as pets, which reduced the breeding population. By the 1950’s, there were only 200 Puerto Rican Amazons left in the wild and they were only found in the El Yunque National Forest. In 1968, conservation attempts were finally made. The Puerto Rican Amazon is recovering in captivity, but the recovery is proving to be slow. By 2012, there were over 300 individuals in captivity but only around 80 are left in the wild.
In spite of being very different in most areas from raptors, Puerto Rican Amazons share an important trait with them in that they mate for life. It is thought that they probably exhibit some complex pairing behaviors when forming a pair bond, but at the present time these behaviors are largely a mystery outside of pair dancing undertaken by new pairings as Puerto Rican Amazons are very secretive about their mating behaviors.
Puerto Rican Amazons reach maturity at four years of age. Most pairs breed once a year between January and July, the dry season in Puerto Rico. Actual mating seems to be spurred by food transfers between the mated pairs. The female then lays between two and four eggs which she incubates exclusively. The male feeds her via regurgitation while she is incubating the eggs. During this time, females only leave the nest rarely, such as an instance where both parents need to fight off a predator. Incubation typically lasts 24 to 28 days, after which the chicks hatch. After hatching, the chicks are fed by both parents until they leave the nest 60 to 65 days after hatching. After leaving the nest, Puerto Rican Amazons stay with their parents and travel with them until the next breeding season.
While Puerto Rican Amazons are normally social animals, as are most parrots, they become territorial about their nests during the breeding season. Also, while they are not typically aggressive, they are very aggressive when it comes to defending their nests and young. They are quite capable of damaging other Puerto Rican Amazon pairs and any predators when they are in the breeding season. Many herbivorous theropods retain the powerful jaws, claws and defense instincts of their predatory ancestors and kin and the Puerto Rican Amazon is one that does. Puerto Rican Amazons are mainly threatened by human activity but raptors will prey upon them as well. Their natural predators include the Red-Tailed Hawk, the Broad-Winged Hawk, the Peregrine Falcon and the Pearly-Eyed Thrasher. As the population in the wild is already so low, natural disasters such as hurricanes can be a major threat to this species as well.
I really like this coin. Not only does it have a depiction of an amazing modern dinosaur, there is also a Common Coqui, a tree frog that shares part of its range with the Puerto Rican Amazon but is not endangered. Along with many other types of animals, I also absolutely adore amphibians so I love having this cute little frog here as well. The Puerto Rican Amazon is a fascinating modern dinosaur that comes with a warning to us, humans, to consider what we are doing to the planet and the other beings forced to share it with us. If we aren’t careful and respectful of other life forms, they may be gone forever and the whole world loses when that happens.