Aegypius

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the hero, see Aegypius (mythology).

Aegypius
Черный гриф.jpg
Cinereous vulture, (Aegypius monachus)
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Subfamily: Gypinae
Genus: Aegypius
Savigny, 1809
Species

Aegypius is a genus of Old World vultures found in the subfamily Gypinae. Of the three species in the genus, only the cinereous vulture is extant. The Cinerous vulture (Aegypius Monachus) is a creature that is hard to find as it is “a near threatened raptor that occurs in isolated populations across its range” (Çakmak). There were studies being conducted on the cinerous vulture and it indicates “that the Turkish birds hold, along with those from the Caucasus, an intermediate position between European (Balkan and Iberian) and North Asian (Mongolian) lineages” (Çakmak). The genus name Aegypius is a Greek word (αἰγυπιός) for 'vulture', or a bird not unlike one; Aelian describes the aegypius as "halfway between a vulture (gyps) and an eagle". Some authorities think this a good description of a lammergeier; others do not. Aegypius is the eponym of the species, whatever it was.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ Celoria, Francis, ed. (1992). The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis : a translation with a commentary. London and New York: Routledge. p. 116 (note 60). ISBN 978-0-415-06896-3.
Retrieved from ""