Aegypiinae is one of two subfamilies of Accipitridae that are referred to as Old World vultures, the other being the Gypaetinae. They are not closely related to the Gypaetinae, and are instead a sister group to the serpent-eagles (Circaetinae).[1][2]
Aegypiinae | |
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Lappet-faced vultures (left) and a white-backed vulture | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Accipitriformes |
Family: | Accipitridae |
Subfamily: | Aegypiinae Sclater, WL, 1924 |
Type genus | |
Aegyptius Savigny, 1809 |
Presently found throughout much of Africa, Asia, and parts of Europe, fossil evidence indicates that as recently as the Late Pleistocene, they ranged into Australia.[3][4]
Taxonomy
The subfamily Aegypiinae was introduced (as the family Aegypiidae) in 1924 by the British zoologist William Lutley Sclater with Aegyptius Savigny, 1809, as the type genus.[5][6]
The cladogram of the Aegypiinae shown below is based on a molecular phylogenetic study of the Accipitridae by Therese Catanach and collaborators that was published in 2024.[2]
Aegypiinae |
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Genera
Genus | Common and binomial names | Image | Range |
---|---|---|---|
Necrosyrtes Gloger, 1841 | Hooded vulture Necrosyrtes monachus |
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Sub-Saharan Africa |
Gyps Savigny, 1809 | Griffon vulture Gyps fulvus |
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Mountains in southern Europe, north Africa and Asia |
White-rumped vulture Gyps bengalensis |
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Northern and central India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and southeast Asia | |
Rüppell's vulture Gyps rueppelli |
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The Sahel region of central Africa | |
Indian vulture Gyps indicus |
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Central and peninsular India | |
Slender-billed vulture Gyps tenuirostris |
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The Sub-Himalayan regions of India and into Southeast Asia | |
Himalayan vulture Gyps himalayensis |
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The Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau | |
White-backed vulture Gyps africanus |
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Savannahs of west and east Africa | |
Cape vulture Gyps coprotheres |
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Southern Africa | |
Sarcogyps Lesson, 1842 | Red-headed vulture Sarcogyps calvus |
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The Indian Subcontinent, with small disjunct populations in Southeast Asia |
Trigonoceps Lesson, 1842 | White-headed vulture Trigonoceps occipitalis |
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Sub-Saharan Africa. Extinct populations have occurred in Indonesia.[7] |
Torgos Kaup, 1828 | Lappet-faced vulture Torgos tracheliotos |
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Sub-Saharan Africa, the Sinai and Negev deserts and north-west Saudi Arabia |
Aegypius Savigny, 1809 | Cinereous vulture Aegypius monachus |
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Southwestern and central Europe, Turkey, the central Middle East, northern India, central and east Asia |
†Aegypius jinniushanensis | Pleistocene of China | ||
†Aegypius prepyrenaicus | Pleistocene of Spain |
Fossil genera
Subfamily | Genus | Common and binomial names | Image | Range |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aegypiinae | †Cryptogyps | †Cryptogyps lacertosus | Pleistocene of Australia | |
†Gansugyps | †Gansugyps linxiaensis | Miocene of China |
† = extinct
References
Further reading
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