Cryptogyps (original) (raw)
Cryptogyps is an extinct genus of Old World vulture from Australia. It contains a single species, C. lacertosus. Originally described as an eagle in 1905 (under the binomial name Taphaetus lacertosus), in 2022 it was reidentified as a vulture, the only known representative from the continent. Phylogenetic analysis supports it being a sister species to the extant, widespread Eurasian vulture genus Gyps. The identification of Cryptogyps as a vulture solves a longstanding mystery about the lack of specialized lineages of large scavenging birds in Australia despite being present on every other continent aside from Antarctica.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| dbo:abstract | Cryptogyps is an extinct genus of Old World vulture from Australia. It contains a single species, C. lacertosus. Originally described as an eagle in 1905 (under the binomial name Taphaetus lacertosus), in 2022 it was reidentified as a vulture, the only known representative from the continent. Phylogenetic analysis supports it being a sister species to the extant, widespread Eurasian vulture genus Gyps. The identification of Cryptogyps as a vulture solves a longstanding mystery about the lack of specialized lineages of large scavenging birds in Australia despite being present on every other continent aside from Antarctica. It was initially known from the lower part of a humerus of Middle-Late Pleistocene age, found around Kalamurina in South Australia. More recently, fossils of indeterminate Pleistocene age were discovered in the Wellington Caves (New South Wales) and Nullarbor Plain (Western Australia), indicating that it had a wide distribution throughout the Australian continent. It likely foraged in grassland and open woodland environments. Despite being close in size to the very large wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax), Cryptogyps was still unusually small for an aegypiine vulture, with only the extant hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) being smaller. As with all other aegypiines, it is assumed to have been an active scavenger that flew great distance to find carrion to feed on. This would have provided a valuable ecological service by reducing disease transmission and facilitating energy flow. Cryptogyps likely fed upon dead or dying Australian megafauna. Following the extinction of most Australian megafauna during the Quaternary extinction event about 50,000 years ago, Cryptogyps may have also gone extinct due to a lack of carrion to feed on. The extinction of Cryptogyps is thought to have allowed the wedge-tailed eagle to become Australia's primary scavenging bird species, due to a lack of competition with specialized scavengers such as Cryptogyps. (en) |
| dbo:wikiPageID | 71347627 (xsd:integer) |
| dbo:wikiPageLength | 4547 (xsd:nonNegativeInteger) |
| dbo:wikiPageRevisionID | 1099846785 (xsd:integer) |
| dbo:wikiPageWikiLink | dbr:Scavenger dbr:Hooded_vulture dbc:Fossil_taxa_described_in_1905 dbr:Quaternary_extinction_event dbr:Antarctica dbr:Sister_group dbr:Wedge-tailed_eagle dbr:Wellington_Caves dbr:Western_Australia dbr:Eurasia dbr:Nullarbor_Plain dbc:Quaternary_birds_of_Australia dbr:Charles_Walter_De_Vis dbr:Kalamurina_Sanctuary dbc:Prehistoric_bird_genera dbc:Aegypiinae dbc:Pleistocene_birds dbr:Chibanian dbr:Late_Pleistocene dbc:Taxa_named_by_Charles_Walter_De_Vis dbr:Australian_megafauna dbr:Pleistocene dbr:South_Australia dbr:New_South_Wales dbr:Old_World_vulture dbr:Gyps |
| dbp:authority | (en) |
| dbp:displayParents | 3 (xsd:integer) |
| dbp:fossilRange | Pleistocene, (en) |
| dbp:genus | Cryptogyps (en) |
| dbp:parentAuthority | Mather, Lee & Worthy, 2022 (en) |
| dbp:species | lacertosus (en) |
| dbp:wikiPageUsesTemplate | dbt:Reflist dbt:Short_description dbt:Speciesbox dbt:Fossil_range dbt:Species_list |
| dct:subject | dbc:Fossil_taxa_described_in_1905 dbc:Quaternary_birds_of_Australia dbc:Prehistoric_bird_genera dbc:Aegypiinae dbc:Pleistocene_birds dbc:Taxa_named_by_Charles_Walter_De_Vis |
| rdfs:comment | Cryptogyps is an extinct genus of Old World vulture from Australia. It contains a single species, C. lacertosus. Originally described as an eagle in 1905 (under the binomial name Taphaetus lacertosus), in 2022 it was reidentified as a vulture, the only known representative from the continent. Phylogenetic analysis supports it being a sister species to the extant, widespread Eurasian vulture genus Gyps. The identification of Cryptogyps as a vulture solves a longstanding mystery about the lack of specialized lineages of large scavenging birds in Australia despite being present on every other continent aside from Antarctica. (en) |
| rdfs:label | Cryptogyps (en) |
| owl:sameAs | wikidata:Cryptogyps https://global.dbpedia.org/id/GT3tP |
| prov:wasDerivedFrom | wikipedia-en:Cryptogyps?oldid=1099846785&ns=0 |
| foaf:isPrimaryTopicOf | wikipedia-en:Cryptogyps |
| is dbo:wikiPageWikiLink of | dbr:List_of_fossil_bird_genera dbr:2022_in_archosaur_paleontology dbr:Aegypiinae dbr:Old_World_vulture |
| is foaf:primaryTopic of | wikipedia-en:Cryptogyps |