Icthyophaga | |
---|---|
Fahad’s fish eagle (Icthyophaga humilis) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Accipitriformes |
Family: | Accipitridae |
Subfamily: | Buteoninae |
Genus: | Icthyophaga Lesson, 1843 |
Type species | |
Falco ichthyaetus Horsfield, 1821 | |
Species | |
See text. |
Icthyophaga (often misspelled as Ichthyophaga) is a genus of six species of eagles, closely related to the sea eagles in the genus Haliaeetus . In fact, some taxonomic authorities place this genus within Haliaeetus. Both are native to southeastern Asia, from the Indian subcontinent southeast to Sulawesi. They are smaller than the Haliaeetus eagles, though overlapping in size with the smaller species of that genus. They share similar plumage, with grey heads grading into dull grey-brown wings and bodies, and white belly and legs. They differ in tail colour, with the lesser fish eagle having a brown tail, and the grey-headed fish eagle having a white tail with a black terminal band, and also in size, with the lesser fish eagle only about half of the weight of the grey-headed fish eagle. [1]
The genus was established by René-Primevère Lesson in 1843, to accommodate a single species, the grey-headed fish eagle, which is therefore considered as the type species. Lesson used two spellings for its name: Icthyophaga and Icthyiophaga, but not Ichthyophaga. [2] [3] Traditionally, this genus was believed to include two species: the lesser fish eagle and the grey-headed fish eagle. [4] Erwin Stresemann and Dean Amadon mistakenly referred to the genus as Ichthyophaga in their work, and this erroneous usage persisted for a long time. However, the name Ichthyophaga actually belongs to a prolecithophoran turbellarian parasite in fish established by Syromiatnikova in 1949. [5] [3]
In 2005, a molecular systematic study based on nuclear and mitochondrial genes merged this genus into Haliaeetus . [6] In the same year, Ronald Sluys and Masaharu Kawakatsu proposed a replacement of Ichthyophaga with Piscinquilinus, [7] eliminating the controversial name for both birds and worms. A new family, Piscinquilinidae, has been proposed in 2017 to accommodate Piscinquilinus. [8] However, Ernest Williams and Lucy Bunkley-Williams opposed this proposal and advocated retaining the original name for the turbellarian genus Ichthyophaga. [3]
In 2017, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, following the suggestion of Ernest Williams and Lucy Bunkley-Williams, conserved both the bird genus Icthyophaga and the turbellarian genus Ichthyophaga in Case 3603. [9]
In 2023, based on latest molecular systematic studies, the International Ornithologists' Union resurrected Icthyophaga with its right name and transferred four species from Haliaeetus to this genus. [10] Therefore, this genus now includes the following six species:
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
White-bellied sea eagle | Icthyophaga leucogaster (Gmelin, JF, 1788) | India and Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia to Australia | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
Sanford's sea eagle | Icthyophaga sanfordi (Mayr, 1935) | Size: Habitat: Diet: | VU | |
African fish eagle | Icthyophaga vocifer (Daudin, 1800) | Sub-Saharan Africa | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
Madagascar fish eagle | Icthyophaga vociferoides (des Murs, 1845) | Madagascar | Size: Habitat: Diet: | CR |
Lesser fish eagle | Icthyophaga humilis (Müller & Schlegel, 1841) Two subspecies
| Kashmir through southeast India, Nepal, and Burma towards Indochina | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT |
Grey-headed fish eagle | Icthyophaga ichthyaetus (Horsfield, 1821) | Southeast Asia | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT |
As both the common and generic names suggest, both fish eagle and the grey-headed fish eagle feed largely on fish, caught mainly in fresh water on lakes and large rivers, but also occasionally in salt water in estuaries and along coasts. [1]
Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus Aquila. Most of the 68 species of eagles are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just 14 species can be found—two in North America, nine in Central and South America, and three in Australia.
The white-bellied sea eagle, also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related to Sanford's sea eagle of the Solomon Islands, and the two are considered a superspecies. A distinctive bird, the adult white-bellied sea eagle has a white head, breast, under-wing coverts and tail. The upper parts are grey and the black under-wing flight feathers contrast with the white coverts. The tail is short and wedge-shaped as in all Haliaeetinae species. Like many raptors, the female is larger than the male, and can measure up to 90 cm (35 in) long with a wingspan of up to 2.2 m (7.2 ft), and weigh 4.5 kg (9.9 lb). Immature birds have brown plumage, which is gradually replaced by white until the age of five or six years. The call is a loud goose-like honking.
The grey-headed fish eagle is a fish-eating bird of prey from Southeast Asia. It is a large stocky raptor with adults having dark brown upper body, grey head and lighter underbelly and white legs. Juveniles are paler with darker streaking. It is often confused with the lesser fish eagle and the Pallas's fish eagle. The lesser fish eagle is similar in plumage but smaller and the Pallas's fish eagle shares the same habitat and feeding behaviour but is larger with longer wings and darker underparts. Is often called tank eagle in Sri Lanka due to its fondness for irrigation tanks.
A sea eagle or fish eagle is any of the birds of prey in the subfamily Haliaeetinae of the bird of prey family Accipitridae. Ten extant species exist, currently described with this label.
The African fish eagle or the African sea eagle is a large species of eagle found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply occur. It is the national bird of Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. As a result of its large range, it is known in many languages. Examples of names include: Vis Arend in Afrikaans, nkwazi in Chewa, aigle pêcheur in French, hungwe in Shona, inkwazi in isiZulu, and ntšhu in Northern Sotho. This species may resemble the bald eagle in appearance; though related, the two species occur on different continents, with the bald eagle being resident in North America.
The Madagascar fish eagle or Madagascar sea-eagle, is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers. It is endemic to the coastal strip in the northwest of Madagascar. It is about 63 cm (25 in) long and has a pale brown head, dark brown body and white tail. The Madagascar fish eagle has been suffering from a declining population and is threatened by habitat destruction and persecution, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being "critically endangered".
Pallas's fish eagle, also known as Pallas's sea eagle or band-tailed fish eagle, is a large, brownish sea eagle. It breeds in the east Palearctic in Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, China, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. It is partially migratory, with Central Asian birds wintering among the southern Asian birds in northern India, and also further west to the Persian Gulf.
The lesser fish eagle is a species of Icthyophaga found in the Indian subcontinent, primarily in the foothills of the Himalayas, and south-east Asia. There are records from Gujarat, Central India and in more recent times from the Kaveri river valley in southern India, although the south Indian records are now thought to come from an isolated population, disjunct from the species' normal range. Some taxonomic authorities place this species in the monotypic genus Icthyophaga. Others place it in the genus Haliaeetus.
Sanford's sea eagle, also known as Sanford's fish eagle or the Solomon eagle, is a sea eagle endemic to the Solomon Islands archipelago.
Dugesia is a genus of dugesiid triclads that contains some common representatives of the class Turbellaria. These common flatworms are found in freshwater habitats of Africa, Eurasia, and Australia. Dugesia is best known to non-specialists because of its regeneration capacities.
Romankenkius is a genus of freshwater planarian in the family Dugesiidae.
Bipalium is a genus of large predatory land planarians. They are often loosely called "hammerhead worms" or "broadhead planarians" because of the distinctive shape of their head region. Land planarians are unique in that they possess a "creeping sole", a highly ciliated region on the ventral epidermis that helps them to creep over the substrate. Native to Asia, several species are invasive to the United States, Canada, and Europe. Some studies have begun the investigation of the evolutionary ecology of these invasive planarians.
Dugesiidae is a family of freshwater planarians distributed worldwide. The type genus is Dugesia Girard, 1850.
Girardia is a genus of freshwater planarians belonging to the family Dugesiidae.
Kenkiidae is a family of freshwater triclads. Their species can be found sporadically in caves, groundwater, and deep lakes in Central Asia, Far East and North America.
Cura is a genus of freshwater flatworm (triclads) belonging to the family Dugesiidae.
Dimarcusidae is a family of triclads found mostly in freshwater habitats of caves, although at least one species, Rhodax evelinae, occurs in surface waters. Currently the family contains only seven species distributed in five genera, although the total number of species is thought to be much higher.
Neppia is a genus of dugesiid triclad that is found in South America, Subantarctic region, Africa, Tasmania and New Zealand.
Geoplaninae is a subfamily of land planarians endemic to the Neotropical region. Members of this family are sometimes referred to as the Neotropical land planarians. However, one species, Obama nungara has been introduced in Europe.
Novibipalium is a genus of land planarians of the subfamily Bipaliinae.
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: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of September 2024 (link)