Woodward's eagle

Last updated

Woodward's eagle
Temporal range: Upper Pleistocene, 0.126–0.0117  Ma
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Amplibuteo woodwardi.jpg
Skeleton from the La Brea Tar Pits
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Buteogallus
Species:
B. woodwardi
Binomial name
Buteogallus woodwardi
L. Miller 1911 [1]

Woodward's eagle (Buteogallus woodwardi) is an extinct species of black hawk that lived in North America and the Caribbean during the Late Pleistocene. [1] Remains have been found in the La Brea Tar Pits in the United States and in Cuba. Despite the common name, the species is technically a gigantic variety of hawk as it is a member of the still extant black hawk genus, Buteogallus, within the Buteoninae subfamily that are chiefly referred to as hawks, and not the Aquilinae subfamily most eagles belong to.

Description and ecology

It is one of the largest birds of prey ever found, with an estimated total length 95.6 to 110.2 cm (37.6 to 43.4 in), slightly larger than the Harpy eagle. Haast's eagle reached bigger lengths and appears to have been also more robust than Woodward's - Haast's was a forest-dwelling species. [1] Woodward's eagle appears to have hunted in open habitats, taking primarily small mammals and reptiles. [1]

It has been suggested that Buteogallus woodwardi might be particularly similar to, and was once considered to be of the same genus as species in the formerly valid solitary eagle genus, Harpyhaliaetus. The reorganization of both animals into the Buteogallus genus has furthered the comparison. Several species of extant solitary eagles sport broad wings, short but wide tails, and dark coloration across the body with noticeable crests above the occipitals which Buteogallus woodwardi might have also had. The diet of modern solitary eagles has also suggested to be broadly similar, if on a smaller scale compared to their extinct relative, with reptiles and small mammals making up a large component of food resources. Scaled up to the size of Buteogallus woodwardi, and it is likely the giant black hawk was hunting similar prey in open habitats up to the size of small deer. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eagle</span> Large carnivore bird

Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family 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—2 in North America, 9 in Central and South America, and 3 in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haast's eagle</span> Extinct species of bird

Haast's eagle is an extinct species of eagle that lived in the South Island of New Zealand, commonly accepted to be the pouakai of Māori legend. It was the largest eagle known to have existed, with an estimated weight of 15 kilograms, compared to the next-largest and extant 9 kg (20 lb) harpy eagle. Its massive size is explained as an evolutionary response to the size of its prey, the flightless moa, the largest of which could weigh 230 kg (510 lb). Haast's eagle became extinct around 1400, following the arrival of the Māori, who outcompeted it for its moa prey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accipitridae</span> Family of birds of prey

The Accipitridae is one of the three families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds of prey with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-sized mammals, with a number feeding on carrion and a few feeding on fruit. The Accipitridae have a cosmopolitan distribution, being found on all the world's continents and a number of oceanic island groups. Some species are migratory. The family contains 255 species which are divided into 70 genera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea eagle</span> Genus of birds

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 that are currently described with this label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornate hawk-eagle</span> Species of bird

The ornate hawk-eagle is a fairly large bird of prey from the tropical Americas. Formerly, some authorities referred to this species as the crested hawk-eagle, a name that may cause some confusion as it is more commonly used for an Asian eagle species. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae. This species has a feathered tarsus that marks it as a member of the Aquilinae or booted eagle subfamily. This species is notable for the vivid colors and bold markings of adults, which differ considerably from the far more whitish plumage of the juvenile bird. The ornate hawk-eagle ranges from central Mexico south through much of Central America and in a somewhat spotty but broad overall range into South America, including in the west apart from the Andes and broadly on the Atlantic side especially Brazil down to as far as Southeast Brazil and northern Argentina. This species is found largely in primary forests with tall trees, although can be found in many forest types.

The dwarf hutia is a small, critically endangered, rat-like mammal known only from Cuba. Aside from tracks, it was last seen in 1937 and may be extinct. It gives birth to only a single offspring at a time, and is threatened by habitat loss and non-native species such as rats and mongoose. The dwarf hutia belongs to the hutia subfamily (Capromyinae), a group of rodents native to the Caribbean that are mostly endangered or extinct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaco eagle</span> Species of bird

The Chaco eagle or crowned solitary eagle, is an endangered bird of prey from eastern and central South America. Typically it is known simply as the crowned eagle which leads to potential confusion with the African Stephanoaetus coronatus. Due to its rarity, not much is known about its biology or population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-chested buzzard-eagle</span> Species of bird

The black-chested buzzard-eagle is a bird of prey of the hawk and eagle family (Accipitridae). It lives in open regions of South America. This species is also known as the black buzzard-eagle, the gray buzzard-eagle, or analogously with "eagle" or "eagle-buzzard" replacing "buzzard-eagle", or as the Chilean blue eagle. It is sometimes placed in the genus Buteo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solitary eagle</span> Species of bird

The solitary eagle or montane solitary eagle is a large Neotropical eagle. It is also known as the black solitary eagle.

<i>Buteogallus</i> Genus of birds

Buteogallus is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. All members of this genus are essentially neotropical, but the distribution of a single species extends slightly into the extreme southwestern United States. Many of the species are fond of large crustaceans and even patrol long stretches of shore or riverbank on foot where such prey abounds, but some have a rather different lifestyle. Unlike many other genera of raptor, some members are referred to as "hawks", and others as "eagles".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-necked hawk</span> Species of bird

The white-necked hawk is a Vulnerable species of bird of prey in subfamily Accipitrinae, the "true" hawks, of family Accipitridae. It is endemic to Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barred hawk</span> Species of bird

The barred hawk is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It has also been known as the black-chested hawk.

Buteogallus borrasi is a species of giant buteonine hawk which went extinct in the early Holocene. Formerly endemic to Cuba, this huge bird of prey probably fed on Pleistocene megafauna. Little is known about its appearance and ecology, so no common name has been given.

Titanohierax gloveralleni, also known as the Bahama eagle, is a large species of extinct hawk from the Late Quaternary of the Caribbean. Remains of the animal have been found on multiple islands in The Bahamas. The animal is known from a handful of bones found across multiple islands, including a tarsometatarsus, partial metacarpal, and nearly complete right ulna. The animal was described based off the former two by Alexander Wetmore in 1937, with all other currently referred material being assigned by Storrs Olson and colleagues in 1982.

Buteogallus daggetti, occasionally called "Daggett's eagle" or the "walking eagle", is an extinct species of long-legged hawk which lived in southwest North America during the Pleistocene. Initially believed to be some sort of carrion-eating eagle, it was for some time placed in the distinct genus Wetmoregyps, named for Alexander Wetmore. It probably resembled a larger version of the modern-day savanna hawk, with its long legs possibly used like the secretarybird of Africa to hunt for small reptiles from a safe distance. It died out about 13,000 years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquilinae</span> Subfamily of birds

The Aquilinae are a subfamily of eagles of the family Accipitridae. The general common name used for members of this subfamily is "booted eagle", although this is also the common name of a member of the subfamily. At one point, this subfamily was considered inclusive with the Buteoninae based probably on some shared morphological characteristics. However, research on the DNA of the booted eagles has shown that they are a monophyletic group that probably have had millions of years of separation from other extant forms of accipitrid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common black hawk</span> Species of bird

The common black hawk is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks, and vultures.

Gigantohierax is a genus of eagle from the Quaternary of present-day Cuba. Little is known about the two known species of the genus other than their very large size.

<i>Dynatoaetus</i> Extinct genus of birds of prey

Dynatoaetus is an extinct genus of large bird of prey from the Pleistocene of Australia. It is among the largest known raptors of the region, second only to the Haast's eagle of New Zealand. Although most closely related to modern vultures, it shows clear adaptations towards an active predatory lifestyle in the form of robust, powerful talons. The genus is monotypic, meaning it contains only a single species: D. gaffae.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Suarez, William (2004). "The Identity of the Fossil Raptor of the Genus Amplibuteo (Aves: Accipitridae) from the Quaternary of Cuba". Caribbean Journal of Science. 40 (1): 120–125.
  2. Emslie, S.D; Czaplewski, N.J. (1999). "Two new fossil eagles from the late Pliocene of Florida and Arizona and their biogeographic implications". Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. 89: 185–198.