Ara ararauna (blue-and-gold macaw) genome, bAraAra1, sequence data
The blue-and-gold macaw (Ara ararauna), also known as the blue-and-yellow macaw, is a large South American parrot with mostly blue top parts and light orange underparts, with gradient hues of green on top of its head. It is a member of the large group of neotropical parrots known as macaws. This sample is from a male at the Texas A&amp;M's Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center, born in Hill Country Aviaries in Dripping Springs, Texas, collected by Sharman Hoppes, coordinated by Janice Boyd (deceased) and Taylor Hains at the University of Chicago, and used to generate a high-quality reference genome for the Vertebrate Genomes Project (VGP). Sequencing and genome assembly were conducted at the Vertebrate Genomes Lab (VGL) at the Rockefeller University, led by Olivier Fedrigo and Erich D. Jarvis.