Aquila (bird)

Aquila
Temporal range: Middle Miocene to present
Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Subfamily: Aquilinae
Genus: Aquila
Brisson, 1760
Type species
Aquila chrysaetos
Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms

See text

3D scan of skeleton

Aquila is the genus of true eagles. The genus name is Latin for "eagle", possibly derived from aquilus, "dark in colour".[1] It is often united with the sea eagles, buteos, and other more heavyset Accipitridae, but more recently they appear to be less distinct from the slenderer accipitrine hawks than previously believed. Eagles are not a natural group but denote essentially any bird of prey large enough to hunt sizeable (about 50 cm long or more overall) vertebrate prey.

Taxonomy and systematics

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The genus Aquila was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) as the type species.[2][3] Aquila belongs to a close-knit group of "typical" eagles including genera Hieraaetus, Lophaetus, Ictinaetus and Clanga. This group occurs as a clade within the larger group of "booted" eagles (tribe Aquilini or subfamily Aquilinae).[4]

The plumage of the more basal members of the booted-eagle group, such as Spizaetus and Nisaetus, generally has barred underparts in adults, and is distinctly different in juveniles which have plain, pale underparts. In contrast, within the Aquila–Hieraaetus–Lophaetus clade, adults are generally dark, with juveniles more closely resembling the adults. Hieraaetus species have both dark and light (or "pied") morphs, with the latter having light, unbarred under-parts.[5]

Research in molecular genetics found Aquila and Hieraaetus to be polyphyletic. Between 2005 and 2014, the British Ornithologists' Union included both Bonelli's and the booted eagle in Aquila. Also, Clements' Checklist merged all Hieraetus species into Aquila from 2001 to 2009. The current approach is to keep Hieraaetus as a separate genus, with Bonelli's eagle and the African hawk-eagle moved into Aquila and Wahlberg's eagle moved into Hieraaetus.[6]

The spotted eagles greater spotted eagle, lesser spotted eagle, and Indian spotted eagle (previously Aquila clanga, A. pomarina, A. (p.) hastata) are thought to be genetically closer to Ictinaetus and Lophoaetus than to other Aquila species, and may be placed into a separate genus, Clanga.[4]

Members of Aquila (excluding those moved to Clanga and Hieraaetus, but including A. fasciata/spilogaster) share two deletions in the (nuclear) LDH gene, as well as similarities in mitochondrial cyt-B gene sequence, though one of these deletions is reverted in A. chrysaetos.[5]

Species

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The genus Aquila contains 11 species:[7]

Genus Aquila – Brisson, 1760 – eleven species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
Steppe eagle

Aquila nipalensis
(Hodgson, 1833) 		Romania east through the south Russian and Central Asian steppes to Mongolia
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 EN 


50,000 - 75,000[8] Decrease

Tawny eagle

Aquila rapax
(Temminck, 1828) 		Africa both north and south of the Sahara Desert and across tropical southwestern Asia to India.
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 VU 


100,000 - 499,999[9] Decrease

Spanish imperial eagle

Aquila adalberti
C. L. Brehm, 1861 		central and south-west Spain and adjacent areas of Portugal, in the Iberian peninsula
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 VU 


1,060 - 1,080[10] Increase

Eastern imperial eagle

Aquila heliaca
Savigny, 1809 		northeastern Africa and southern and eastern Asia
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 VU 


2,500 - 9,999[11] Decrease

Wedge-tailed eagle

Aquila audax
(Latham, 1801) 		southern New Guinea, part of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


[12] Increase

Golden eagle

Aquila chrysaetos
(Linnaeus, 1758) 		Eurasia and North America
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


85,000 - 160,000[13] Steady

Cassin's hawk-eagle

Aquila africana
(Cassin, 1865[5]) 		West, central and marginally east Africa; from Sierra Leone east to western Uganda south through the Congo Basin to northern Angola Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


670 - 6,700[14] Decrease

Gurney's eagle

Aquila gurneyi
Gray, 1860 		Moluccas to Irian Jaya and most of New Guinea Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 NT 


2,500 - 9,999[15] Decrease

Verreaux's eagle

Aquila verreauxii
Lesson, 1830 		southern and eastern Africa (extending marginally into Chad), and very locally in West Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the southern Middle East.
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


[16]

Bonelli's eagle

Aquila fasciata
(Vieillot, 1822) 		southern Europe, Africa both north and south of the Sahara Desert and across the Middle East and South Asia to Indonesia
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


20,000 - 49,999[17] Decrease

African hawk-eagle

Aquila spilogaster
(Bonaparte, 1850) 		tropical Sub-Saharan Africa
Map of range 		Size:

Habitat:

Diet: 		 LC 


[18] Decrease

Fossil record

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Numerous fossil taxa of eagles have been described.[19][20] Many have been moved to other genera, but several appear to be correctly assigned to this genus:

Whether "Hieraaetus" edwardsi (Middle -? Late Miocene of SW Europe) belongs into Aquila or the hawk-eagles (if the latter are indeed distinct) is unclear. Its initial name, "Aquila" minuta Milne-Edwards, 1871, is preoccupied by a junior synonym of the booted eagle, A. minuta Brehm, 1831.

Not placed in Aquila anymore are:

"Aquila" danana (Snake Creek Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Loup Fork, USA), occasionally placed in Geranoaetus or Buteo, was a bird of prey of unclear relationships.

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  2. ^ Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés (in French and Latin). Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. Vol. 1, p. 28, Vol. 1, p. 419.
  3. ^ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 378.
  4. ^ a b Boyd, John Accipitriformes", Taxonomy in Flux Checklist.
  5. ^ a b c Helbig, AJ; Kocum, A; Seibold, I; Braun, MJ (2005). "A multi-gene phylogeny of aquiline eagles (Aves: Accipitriformes) reveals extensive paraphyly at the genus level" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 35 (1): 147–164. Bibcode:2005MolPE..35..147H. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.10.003. PMID 15737588.
  6. ^ See article Hieraaetus for details.
  7. ^ "Hoatzin, New World vultures, Secretarybird, raptors – IOC World Bird List". www.worldbirdnames.org. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  8. ^ BirdLife International. (2021). "Aquila nipalensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T22696038A205452572. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22696038A205452572.en.
  9. ^ BirdLife International. (2021). "Aquila rapax". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T22696033A203852137. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22696033A203852137.en.
  10. ^ BirdLife International. (2021). "Aquila adalberti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T22696042A205085721. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22696042A205085721.en.
  11. ^ BirdLife International. (2019) [amended version of 2017 assessment]. "Aquila heliaca". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T22696048A155464885. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22696048A155464885.en.
  12. ^ BirdLife International. (2016). "Aquila audax". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22696064A93542539. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22696064A93542539.en.
  13. ^ BirdLife International. (2021). "Aquila chrysaetos". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T22696060A202078899. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22696060A202078899.en.
  14. ^ BirdLife International. (2017) [amended version of 2016 assessment]. "Aquila africana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22696138A111714549. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22696138A111714549.en.
  15. ^ BirdLife International. (2021). "Aquila gurneyi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T22696056A157456056. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22696056A157456056.en.
  16. ^ BirdLife International. (2016). "Aquila verreauxii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22696067A95221980. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22696067A95221980.en.
  17. ^ BirdLife International. (2019) [amended version of 2016 assessment]. "Aquila fasciata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T22696076A155464015. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22696076A155464015.en.
  18. ^ BirdLife International. (2016). "Aquila spilogaster". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22696084A93543538. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22696084A93543538.en.
  19. ^ Brodkorb, Pierce (1964). "Catalogue of Fossil Birds: Part 2 (Anseriformes through Galliformes)". Bulletin of the Florida State Museum. 8 (3): 195–335.
  20. ^ a b Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002): Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe Archived 2011-03-07 at WebCite . Ninox Press, Prague, p. 194.
  21. ^ Boev, Z. N. (December 2013). "Aquila kurochkini sp. n., a new Late Pliocene eagle (Aves, Accipitriformes) from Varshets (NW Bulgaria)". Paleontological Journal. 47 (11): 1344–1354. Bibcode:2013PalJ...47.1344B. doi:10.1134/S003103011311004X. ISSN 0031-0301.
  22. ^ Salotti, Michelle; Bellot-Gourlet, Ludovic; Courtois, Jean-Yves; et al. (2000). "La fin du Pléistocène supérieur et le début de l'Holocène en Corse: apports paléontologique et archéologique du site de Castiglione (Oletta, Haute-Corse)" [The end of the Late Pleistocene and the Early Holocene in Corsica: New paleontological and archaeological data from Castiglione deposit (Oletta, Haute-Corse)]. Quaternaire (English abstract) (in French). 11 (3): 219–230. doi:10.3406/quate.2000.1671.
  23. ^ Louchart, Dr Antoine; Bedetti, Claudia; Pavia, Dr Marco (2005-05-10). "A new species of eagle (Aves: Accipitridae) close to the Steppe Eagle, from the Pleistocene of Corsica and Sardinia, France and Italy". Palaeontographica Abteilung A (in German). 272 (5–6): 121–148. Bibcode:2005PalAA.272..121L. doi:10.1127/pala/272/2005/121. hdl:2318/80202. S2CID 231030093.
  24. ^ Madagascar and other Islands. Human Settlers Invade Paradise Archived 2007-10-07 at the Wayback Machine. Endangered Species Handbook. Retrieved on 2013-04-17.
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