Aquila Temporal range: Middle Miocene to present | |
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Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Accipitriformes |
Family: | Accipitridae |
Subfamily: | Aquilinae |
Genus: | Aquila Brisson, 1760 |
Type species | |
Falco chrysaetos Linnaeus, 1758 | |
Synonyms | |
See text |
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.
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]
The genus Aquila contains 11 species: [7]
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
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Steppe eagle | Aquila nipalensis (Hodgson, 1833) | Romania east through the south Russian and Central Asian steppes to Mongolia | Size: Habitat: Diet: | EN
|
Tawny eagle | Aquila rapax (Temminck, 1828) | Africa both north and south of the Sahara Desert and across tropical southwestern Asia to India. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | VU
|
Spanish imperial eagle | Aquila adalberti C. L. Brehm, 1861 | central and south-west Spain and adjacent areas of Portugal, in the Iberian peninsula | Size: Habitat: Diet: | VU
|
Eastern imperial eagle | Aquila heliaca Savigny, 1809 | northeastern Africa and southern and eastern Asia | Size: Habitat: Diet: | VU
|
Wedge-tailed eagle | Aquila audax (Latham, 1801) | Australia, southern New Guinea, part of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
Golden eagle | Aquila chrysaetos (Linnaeus, 1758) | Eurasia and North America | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC
|
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
|
Gurney's eagle | Aquila gurneyi Gray, 1860 | Moluccas to Irian Jaya and most of New Guinea | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT
|
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. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
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 | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC
|
African hawk-eagle | Aquila spilogaster (Bonaparte, 1850) | tropical Sub-Saharan Africa | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
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" minutaMilne-Edwards, 1871, is preoccupied by a junior synonym of the booted eagle, A. minutaBrehm, 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.
Cathartidae, known commonly as New World vultures or condors, are a family of birds of prey consisting of seven extant species in five genera. It includes five extant vultures and two extant condors found in the Americas. They are known as "New World" vultures to distinguish them from Old World vultures, with which the Cathartidae does not form a single clade despite the two being similar in appearance and behavior as a result of convergent evolution.
Buteo is a genus of medium to fairly large, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings. In the Old World, members of this genus are called "buzzards", but "hawk" is used in the New World. As both terms are ambiguous, buteo is sometimes used instead, for example, by the Peregrine Fund.
A booby is a seabird in the genus Sula, part of the family Sulidae. Boobies are closely related to the gannets (Morus), which were formerly included in Sula.
Accipiter is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. Most species are called sparrowhawks, but there are many sparrowhawks in other genera too, such as Tachyspiza.
The lesser spotted eagle is a large Eastern European bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. The typical eagles are often united with the buteos, sea eagles, and other more heavy-set Accipitridae, but more recently it appears as if they are less distinct from the more slender accipitrine hawks than believed.
The booted eagle is a medium-sized mostly migratory bird of prey with a wide distribution in the Palearctic and southern Asia, wintering in the tropics of Africa and Asia, with a small, disjunct breeding population in south-western Africa. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae.
Wahlberg's eagle is a bird of prey that is native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it is a seasonal migrant in the woodlands and savannas. It is named after the Swedish naturalist Johan August Wahlberg. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae.
Anser is a waterfowl genus that includes the grey geese and the white geese. It belongs to the true goose and swan subfamily of Anserinae under the family of Anatidae. The genus has a Holarctic distribution, with at least one species breeding in any open, wet habitats in the subarctic and cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in summer. Some also breed farther south, reaching into warm temperate regions. They mostly migrate south in winter, typically to regions in the temperate zone between the January 0 °C (32 °F) and 5 °C (41 °F) isotherms.
The Pantherinae is a subfamily of the Felidae; it was named and first described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1917 as only including the Panthera species, but later also came to include the clouded leopards. The Pantherinae genetically diverged from a common ancestor between 9.32 to 4.47 million years ago and 10.67 to 3.76 million years ago.
The Indian spotted eagle is a large bird of prey native to South Asia. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. The typical eagles are often united with the buteos, sea eagles and other more heavy-set Accipitridae, but more recently it appears as if they are less distinct from the more slender accipitrine hawks.
Gurney's eagle is a large eagle in the family Accipitridae. It is found in New Guinea and Wallacea, and is an occasional vagrant to Australia.
The genus Hieraaetus, sometimes known as small eagles or hawk-eagles, denotes a group of smallish eagles usually placed in the accipitrid subfamilies Buteoninae or Aquilinae.
This article is a list of biological species, subspecies, and evolutionary significant units that are known to have become extinct during the Holocene, the current geologic epoch, ordered by their known or approximate date of disappearance from oldest to most recent.
The pygmy eagle or New Guinea hawk-eagle is a bird of prey found in New Guinea. Its natural habitats are primarily subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. It is the one of the smallest species of eagle.
Cassin's hawk-eagle or Cassin's eagle, is a relatively small eagle in the family Accipitridae. Its feathered legs mark it as member of the Aquilinae or booted eagle subfamily. A forest-dependent species, it occurs in primary rainforests across western, central and (marginally) eastern Africa where it preys on birds and tree squirrels. It was named after John Cassin who first described it in 1865. Due to widespread habitat destruction, its populations are steadily declining but have not yet warranted upgrading its status from Least Concern.
Nisaetus, the crested hawk-eagles, is a genus of raptor in the subfamily Aquilinae, found mainly in tropical Asia. They were earlier placed within the genus Spizaetus but molecular studies show that the Old World representatives of that genus are closer to the genus Ictinaetus than to the New World Spizaetus. They are slender-bodied, medium-sized hawk-eagles with rounded wings, long feathered legs, barred wings, crests and usually adapted to forest habitats.
Clanga is a genus which contains the spotted eagles. The genus name is from Ancient Greek klangos, "eagle".
The Al Wohoosh Desert Conservation Reserve, is a natural protected area of the United Arab Emirates, established in 2014, which is located in the eastern area of the Emirate of Dubai.