Papers by Fabio Olmos et al. (1997) and Joseph (2000) independently recommended that Pfrimer’s Parakeet be considered a species, separate from White-eared Parakeet Pyrrhura leucotis, on the basis of geographical variation in plumage, morphometry, habitat requirements and biogeography. Prior to these papers it was treated as a race of the White-eared Parakeet. The HBW and Birdlife International Checklist confirms this treatment and changes the English name to Goias Parakeet. It is confined to a small area of deciduous forest in Goiás.

There is an illustration in HBW, Volume 4, Page 438.