Aegypiinae
Subfamily of birds
title: "Aegypiinae" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["aegypiinae", "old-world-vultures", "accipitridae", "vultures", "birds-of-prey"] description: "Subfamily of birds" topic_path: "general/aegypiinae" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegypiinae" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Subfamily of birds ::
| image = Gyps africanus Torgos tracheliotus.jpg | image_caption = Lappet-faced vultures (left) and a white-backed vulture | taxon = Aegypiinae | authority = Sclater, WL, 1924 | type_genus = Aegypius | type_genus_authority = Savigny, 1809
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).
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.
Taxonomy
The subfamily Aegypiinae was introduced (as the family Aegypiidae) in 1924 by the British zoologist William Lutley Sclater with Aegypius Savigny, 1809, as the type genus.
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.
|label1=Aegypiinae |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=Necrosyrtes – hooded vulture |2=Gyps – vultures (8 species) |2={{clade |1=Sarcogyps – red-headed vulture |2={{clade |1=Trigonoceps – white-headed vulture |2={{clade |1=Torgos – lappet-faced vulture |2=Aegypius – cinereous vulture
Genera
::data[format=table]
| Genus | Common and binomial names | Image | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Necrosyrtes Gloger, 1841 | Hooded vulture | ||
| Necrosyrtes monachus | [[File:Vulture in Tanzania 3118 cropped Nevit.jpg | 120px]] | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Gyps Savigny, 1809 | Griffon vulture | ||
| Gyps fulvus | [[File:Белоглав лешояд - 1.jpg | 120px]] | Mountains in southern Europe, north Africa and Asia |
| White-rumped vulture | |||
| Gyps bengalensis | [[File:Gyps bengalensis PLoS.png | 120px]] | Northern and central India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and southeast Asia |
| Rüppell's vulture | |||
| Gyps rueppelli | [[File:Gyps rueppellii -Nairobi National Park, Kenya-8-4c.jpg | 120px]] | The Sahel region of central Africa |
| Indian vulture | |||
| Gyps indicus | [[File:The Indian Vulture (Gyps indicus) or Long-billed Vulture.jpg | 120px]] | Central and peninsular India |
| Slender-billed vulture | |||
| Gyps tenuirostris | [[File:Gyps tenuirostris.png | 120px]] | The Sub-Himalayan regions of India and into Southeast Asia |
| Himalayan vulture | |||
| Gyps himalayensis | [[File:Himalayan Vulture (by a road) (2926948182).jpg | 120px]] | The Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau |
| White-backed vulture | |||
| Gyps africanus | [[File:White-backed Vulture Chobe.jpg | 120px]] | Savannahs of west and east Africa |
| Cape vulture | |||
| Gyps coprotheres | [[File:Cape Vulture - Giant Castle - South-Africa 010002 (15444476446).jpg | 120px]] | Southern Africa |
| Sarcogyps Lesson, 1842 | Red-headed vulture | ||
| Sarcogyps calvus | [[File:Red-headed Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus), immature, Bharatpur, India (254).jpg | 120px]] | The Indian subcontinent, with small disjunct populations in Southeast Asia |
| Trigonoceps Lesson, 1842 | White-headed vulture | ||
| Trigonoceps occipitalis | [[File:Trigonoceps occipitalis -Kruger National Park, South Africa -flying-8.jpg | 120px]] | Sub-Saharan Africa. Extinct populations have occurred in Indonesia. |
| Torgos Kaup, 1828 | Lappet-faced vulture | ||
| Torgos tracheliotos | [[File:Nubianvulture.jpeg | 120px]] | Sub-Saharan Africa, the Sinai and Negev deserts and north-west Saudi Arabia |
| Aegypius Savigny, 1809 | Cinereous vulture | ||
| Aegypius monachus | [[File:Black Vulture 1.jpg | 120px]] | 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
::data[format=table]
| Subfamily | Genus | Common and binomial names | Image | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aegypiinae | †Cryptogyps | †Cryptogyps lacertosus | Pleistocene of Australia | |
| †Gansugyps | †Gansugyps linxiaensis | Miocene of China | ||
| :: |
† = extinct
References
References
- (2005). "Phylogeny of eagles, Old World vultures, and other Accipitridae based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
- (2022-07-20). "A new look at an old Australian raptor places "Taphaetus" lacertosus de Vis 1905 in the Old World vultures (Accipitridae: Aegypiinae)". Zootaxa.
- "Mindat.org".
- (1924). "Systema avium aethiopicarum. A systematic list of the birds of the Ethiopian region". British Ornithologists' Union.
- Bock, Walter J.. (1994). "History and Nomenclature of Avian Family-Group Names". American Museum of Natural History.
- (2024). "Enigmas no longer: using ultraconserved elements to place several unusual hawk taxa and address the non-monophyly of the genus ''Accipiter'' (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.
- Hanneke J.M.. "Continental-style avian extinctions on an oceanic island".
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