 The species was recognized by Birdlife International and the IUCN Red List until 2013, but was not considered valid thereafter.In 2015, a terminal phalanx bone (ungual claw bone) attributable to the genus "Ara" from south-western Marie-Galante was described by ecologists Monica Gala and Arnaud Lenoble.It was discovered in the Blanchard Cave during excavations in 2013–2014, in a fossil-bearing deposit dating to the late Pleistocene epoch.