The genus was introduced by French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854. The type species was subsequent designated as the monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) by English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1855.
The genus was established by French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854, and its type species was subsequently designated as the monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) by English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1855.