Toucans are typically characterized by their large, colorful bills, which are used for a variety of functions such as thermoregulation, feeding, and social signaling.

The genus Ramphastos was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.

[12] All have black wings, tails and thighs, but the colour of the remaining plumage depends on the exact species involved.

Toucans are particularly abundant in the Amazon basin, where they play an important ecological role as seed dispersers and predators.

The researchers sequenced several nuclear and mitochondrial genes from 40 toucan species, representing all recognized subgenera within the genus Ramphastos.

The evolutionary history of toucans can be traced back to the Eocene period, around 50 million years ago, when the first toucan-like bird, known as Paratodus, appeared in Europe.

This burst of activity was associated with the expansion and diversification of several gene families that are involved in sensory perception and immune response.

In particular, they found that they had inserted into regulatory regions of the genes, altering their expression patterns and contributing to the development of the large and colorful bill.