Systematics

Vultur monachus Linnaeus, 1766, Systema Naturae, 12th edition, Tomus I, part 1, p. 122.—based on “The Crested or Coped Black Vulture” of Edwards, 1760, Gleanings of Natural History, part 2, p. 171, Plate 290; type locality Arabia (31 Mackworth-Praed, C. W., and C. H. B. Grant (1934). Systematic notes on East African birds.—Part II. Ibis 76(2):347–350. Close ).

In cases where Linnaeus based his name on a prior indication, usually no type specimen is in existence.

Synonyms:
Vultur cinereus J. F. Gmelin 1788, Systema Naturae, 13th edition, Tomus I, part 1, p. 247.—Europe [“frequent in its high mountains”] (32 Gmelin, J. F. (1788). Caroli a Linné Systema Naturae. Thirteenth edition, Volume 1. George Emanuel Beer, Leipzig, Germany. Close ). Based on prior indications by, among others, Buffon, Willughby, and Latham. No type material known to exist.
Vultur chincou Daudin, 1800, Traité élémentaire et complet d’Ornithologie, Tome 2, p. 12.—Daudin (33 Daudin, F. M. (1800). Traité élémentaire et complet d’Ornithologie. Tome 2. Bertrandet, Paris, France. Close ) based his name on Levaillant’s Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux d’Afrique; locality restricted to northeastern China by Hachisuka (34 Hachisuka, M. (1938). Type-locality of the Eastern Griffon-Vulture. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 59:16–17. Close ). No type material known to exist.
Vultur vulgaris Daudin 1800, Traité élémentaire et complet d’Ornithologie, Tome 2, p. 16.—high mountains of Europe. Daudin (33 Daudin, F. M. (1800). Traité élémentaire et complet d’Ornithologie. Tome 2. Bertrandet, Paris, France. Close ) took as his indication for this name a variety of sources including works by Brisson, Buffon, Willughby, and Latham. No type material known to exist.
Vultur niger Daudin, 1800, Traité élémentaire et complet d’Ornithologie, Tome 2, p. 17.—Egypt and Sardinia. In this case, Daudin (33 Daudin, F. M. (1800). Traité élémentaire et complet d’Ornithologie. Tome 2. Bertrandet, Paris, France. Close ) based his nomen on a variety of prior indications including Gmelin and Latham. No type material known to exist.
Vultur arrianus Daudin 1800, Traité élémentaire et complet d’Ornithologie, Tome 2, p. 18.—Pyrenees. Daudin (33 Daudin, F. M. (1800). Traité élémentaire et complet d’Ornithologie. Tome 2. Bertrandet, Paris, France. Close ) took as his basis an earlier work on the zoology of the Pyrenees. No type material known to exist.
Ægypius monachus danieli R. Meinertzhagen, 1938, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 58:94.—Changai, Mongolia. The holotype is an adult female collected in June 1929, held in the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Science, St. Petersburg (35 Meinertzhagen, R. (1938). [Descriptions of four new races, Ægypius monachus danieli from Mongolia, Parus rufonuchalis blanchardi and Erythrina synoica salimalii from Afghanistan, and Sitta neumayer subcæruelus from Afghan Turkestan]. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 58:94–96. Close ); see Hachisuka (34 Hachisuka, M. (1938). Type-locality of the Eastern Griffon-Vulture. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 59:16–17. Close ) for synonymization.

Currently, Cinereous Vulture is included in the monospecific genus Aegypius Savigny, 1809 (36 Savigny, J. L. (1809). Explication sommaire des planches d’oiseaux de l’Égypte et de la Syrie. Partie systématique. In Description de l’Egypte, ou Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Egypte pendant l’expédition de l’armée francaise, publié par les ordres de sa majesté l’empereur Napoléon le grand. Histoire naturelle. Tome premier (E. F. Jomard, Editor), Imprimerie Impériale, Paris, France. pp. 1–54. Close ).

Morphological studies to date, although based on small sample sizes, suggest that there is clinal variation characterized by an increase in size from west to east across the species’ distribution (35 Meinertzhagen, R. (1938). [Descriptions of four new races, Ægypius monachus danieli from Mongolia, Parus rufonuchalis blanchardi and Erythrina synoica salimalii from Afghanistan, and Sitta neumayer subcæruelus from Afghan Turkestan]. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 58:94–96. Close , 1 Glutz von Blotzheim, N., K. M. Bauer, and E. Bezzel (1971). Handbuch der Vögel Mitteleuropas. Band 4. Falconiformes. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Close , 2 Cramp, S., and K. E. L. Simmons, Editors (1980). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Volume 2. Hawks to Bustards. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

Genetic studies of Cinereous Vulture populations have recovered low levels of diversity in mitochondrial DNA and moderate levels in nuclear microsatellite markers (37 Poulakakis, N., A. Antoniou, G. Mantziou, A. Parmakelis, T. Skartsi, D. Vasilakis, J. Elorriaga, J. de la Puente, A. Gavashelishvili, M. Ghasabyan, T. Katzner, M. McGrady, N. Batbayar, M. Fuller, and T. Natsagdorj (2008). Population structure, diversity, and phylogeography in the near-threatened Eurasian black vultures Aegypius monachus (Falconiformes; Accipitridae) in Europe: insights from microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA variation. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 95(4):859–872. Close , 38 Çakmak, E., Ç. A. Pekçen, C. Kirazlı, E. Yamaç, and C. C. Bilgin (2019). Extremely low mitochondrial DNA diversity in a near threatened species, the Cinereous Vulture Aegypius monachus in Turkey. Ardea 107(1):85–92. Close , 39 Ganbold, O., G. C. Bing, M. Munkhbayar, W. K. Paek, E. Purevee, N. Jargal, R. Oyunbat, and A. Jargalsaikhan (2021). Low genetic variation of cinereous vultures (Aegypius monachus) revealed by the mitochondrial COI gene in central Mongolia. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity 14(1):93–97. Close ). One molecular study identified seven different mitochondrial haplotypes comprising four allopatric lineages, namely, one in the Iberian Peninsula, another in the Balkans, a third lineage in Armenia, Georgia, and Kazakhstan, and a fourth in Mongolia (37 Poulakakis, N., A. Antoniou, G. Mantziou, A. Parmakelis, T. Skartsi, D. Vasilakis, J. Elorriaga, J. de la Puente, A. Gavashelishvili, M. Ghasabyan, T. Katzner, M. McGrady, N. Batbayar, M. Fuller, and T. Natsagdorj (2008). Population structure, diversity, and phylogeography in the near-threatened Eurasian black vultures Aegypius monachus (Falconiformes; Accipitridae) in Europe: insights from microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA variation. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 95(4):859–872. Close ). Using the same sample, nuclear microsatellite markers revealed two large population clusters, one in Mongolia and the other cluster formed by populations in Europe and western Asia, whilst a phylogeographic analysis pointed to an east‒west clinal distribution and allopatric differentiation (37 Poulakakis, N., A. Antoniou, G. Mantziou, A. Parmakelis, T. Skartsi, D. Vasilakis, J. Elorriaga, J. de la Puente, A. Gavashelishvili, M. Ghasabyan, T. Katzner, M. McGrady, N. Batbayar, M. Fuller, and T. Natsagdorj (2008). Population structure, diversity, and phylogeography in the near-threatened Eurasian black vultures Aegypius monachus (Falconiformes; Accipitridae) in Europe: insights from microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA variation. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 95(4):859–872. Close ). Within Türkiye, no significant genetic structure was recovered from samples of multiple populations (40 Çakmak, E., Ç. Akin Pekşen, C. Kirazli, E. Yamaç, S. Bensch, and C. C. Bilgin (2019). Genetic diversity is retained in a bottlenecked Cinereous Vulture population in Turkey. Ibis 161(4):793–805. Close ).

Monotypic.

Formerly, the genera Aegypius, Torgos, Trigonoceps, Sarcogyps, Necrosyrtes, and Gyps were all assigned to the subfamily Aegypiinae (41 Peters, J. L. (1931). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 1. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, USA. Close ). Recent phylogenetic studies, however, indicate that this clade is apparently a polyphyletic group comprising two separate lineages, one made up of the genera Necrosyrtes and Gyps, with the remainder of the genera in the other lineage (42 Seibold, I., and A. J. Helbig (1995). Evolutionary history of New and Old World vultures inferred from nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 350:163–178. Close , 43 Mindell, D. P., J. Fuchs, and J. A. Johnson (2018). Phylogeny, taxonomy, and geographic diversity of diurnal raptors: Falconiformes, Accipitriformes, and Cathartiformes. In Birds of Prey (J. Sarasola, J. Grande and J. Negro, Editors), Springer, Cham, Switzerland. pp. 3–32. Close ). In consequence, Seibold and Helbig (42 Seibold, I., and A. J. Helbig (1995). Evolutionary history of New and Old World vultures inferred from nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 350:163–178. Close ) proposed to restrict the subfamily Aegypiinae to the genera Aegypius, Torgos, Trigonoceps, and Sarcogyps.

The Cinereous Vulture is the sister taxon to the Lappet-faced Vulture (Torgos tracheliotos) (44 Wink, M. (1995). Phylogeny of Old and New World vultures (Aves: Accipitridae and Cathartidae) inferred from nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung C 50:868–882. Close , 45 Wink, M., and I. Seibold (1996). Molecular phylogeny of Mediterranean raptors (families Accipitridae and Falconidae). In Biología y Conservación de las Rapaces Mediterráneas, 1994 (J. Muntaner and J. Mayol, Editors). Monografías 4. SEO, Madrid, Spain. pp. 335–344. Close , 46 Wink, M., I. Seibold, F. Lotfikhah, and W. Bednarek (1998). Molecular systematics of Holarctic raptors (Order Falconiformes). In Holarctic Birds of Prey, Proceedings of an International Conference (B.-U. Meyburg, R. D. Chancellor and J. J. Ferrero, Editors), World Working Group of Birds of Prey and Owls, Berlin, Germany and ADENEX (Asociación para la Defensa de la naturaleza y los recursos de Extremadura), Mérida, Spain. pp. 29–48. Close , 47 Wink, M., and H. Sauer-Gürth (2004). Phylogenetic relationships in diurnal raptors based on nucleotide sequences of mitrochondrial and nuclear marker genes. In Raptors Worldwide (R. D. Chancellor and B.-U. Meyburg, Editors), World Working Group of Birds of Prey and Owls, Berlin, Germany and ADENEX (Asociación para la Defensa de la naturaleza y los recursos de Extremadura), Mérida, Spain. pp. 483–498. Close , 48 Lerner, H. R. L., and D. P. Mindell (2005). Phylogeny of eagles, Old World vultures, and other Accipitridae based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37:327–346. Close , 43 Mindell, D. P., J. Fuchs, and J. A. Johnson (2018). Phylogeny, taxonomy, and geographic diversity of diurnal raptors: Falconiformes, Accipitriformes, and Cathartiformes. In Birds of Prey (J. Sarasola, J. Grande and J. Negro, Editors), Springer, Cham, Switzerland. pp. 3–32. Close ). The White-headed Vulture (Trigonoceps occipitalis) is sister to the Cinereous Vulture and the Lappet-faced Vulture (46 Wink, M., I. Seibold, F. Lotfikhah, and W. Bednarek (1998). Molecular systematics of Holarctic raptors (Order Falconiformes). In Holarctic Birds of Prey, Proceedings of an International Conference (B.-U. Meyburg, R. D. Chancellor and J. J. Ferrero, Editors), World Working Group of Birds of Prey and Owls, Berlin, Germany and ADENEX (Asociación para la Defensa de la naturaleza y los recursos de Extremadura), Mérida, Spain. pp. 29–48. Close , 47 Wink, M., and H. Sauer-Gürth (2004). Phylogenetic relationships in diurnal raptors based on nucleotide sequences of mitrochondrial and nuclear marker genes. In Raptors Worldwide (R. D. Chancellor and B.-U. Meyburg, Editors), World Working Group of Birds of Prey and Owls, Berlin, Germany and ADENEX (Asociación para la Defensa de la naturaleza y los recursos de Extremadura), Mérida, Spain. pp. 483–498. Close , 48 Lerner, H. R. L., and D. P. Mindell (2005). Phylogeny of eagles, Old World vultures, and other Accipitridae based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37:327–346. Close , 43 Mindell, D. P., J. Fuchs, and J. A. Johnson (2018). Phylogeny, taxonomy, and geographic diversity of diurnal raptors: Falconiformes, Accipitriformes, and Cathartiformes. In Birds of Prey (J. Sarasola, J. Grande and J. Negro, Editors), Springer, Cham, Switzerland. pp. 3–32. Close ), and the Red-headed Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) is sister to these three species (43 Mindell, D. P., J. Fuchs, and J. A. Johnson (2018). Phylogeny, taxonomy, and geographic diversity of diurnal raptors: Falconiformes, Accipitriformes, and Cathartiformes. In Birds of Prey (J. Sarasola, J. Grande and J. Negro, Editors), Springer, Cham, Switzerland. pp. 3–32. Close ).

No instances reported.

The genus name Aegypius is derived from Greek, meaning vulture, and the species name monachus from Latin, meaning monk (49 Jobling, J. A. (2010). Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. A. & C. Black, London, UK. Close ).

Fossils from the Upper Pleistocene, attributed to the Cinereous Vulture, have been found at Temnata, Bulgaria (50 Boev, Z. (1994). The Upper Pleistocene birds. In Temnata Cave. Excavations in Karlukovo Karst Area, Bulgaria. 1.2 (J. K. Kozlowski, H. Laville, and B. Ginter, Editors). Jagellonian University Press, Cracow, Poland. pp. 55–86. Close ), with remains from the Middle Pleistocene found at Binagady, Azerbaijan (51 Tyrberg, T. (1998). Pleistocene Birds of the Palearctic: A Catalogue. Nuttall Ornithological Club Publication no. 27. Nuttall Ornithological Club, Cambridge, MA, USA. Close ), Pedrera de S’Ònix, Mallorca, Spain (52 Mourer-Chauviré, C., S. Moyà, and R. Adrover (1977). Les oiseaux des gisements quaternaires de Majorque. Nouveaux Archives du Museum d’Histoire Naturelle de Lyon 15:61–64. Close ), and Galería, (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain (53 Sánchez Marco, A. (1999). Aves del yacimiento mesopleistoceno de Galería (Sierra de Atapuerca). Patrones ecológicos en el Pleistoceno medio. In Atapuerca: ocupaciones humanas y paleoecología del yacimiento de Galería (E. Carbonell, A. Rosas, and J. C. Díez, Editors), Junta de Castilla y León. pp. 211–224. Close ). Fossils attributed to this species and dating from the Lower Pleistocene have been recovered from deposits at Sandalja, Croatia; Grotte de la Vache, France; Hayonim Cave, Kebara, and Qafzeh, Israel; Grotta del Principe, Italy; and Gabasa, Spain (51 Tyrberg, T. (1998). Pleistocene Birds of the Palearctic: A Catalogue. Nuttall Ornithological Club Publication no. 27. Nuttall Ornithological Club, Cambridge, MA, USA. Close ). Remains from the Paleolithic have been reported from Ksâr’Akil, Lebanon (54 Kersten, A. M. P. (1991). Birds from the Palaeolithic Rock Shelter of Ksar 'Akil, Lebanon. Paléorient 17(2):99–116. Close ), La Férrassie, (55 Mourer-Chauviré, C. (1984). Les oiseaux du grand abri de La Ferrassie. In Le grand abri de La Ferrassie, à Savignac-de-Miremont (Dordogne) (G. Delporte, Editor), Études Quaternaires, Marseille. pp. 99–103. Close ), and Grotta Romanelli, Italy (56 Cassoli, P. F., and A. Tagliacozzo (1997). Butchering and cooking of birds in the palaeolithic site of grotta Romanelli (Italy). International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 7(4):303–320. Close ). Fossils of Cinereous Vulture from the Late Pleistocene/Cenozoic were found in deposits at Liko Cave, Crete, Greece (57 Weesie, P. D. M. (1988). The Quaternary avifauna of Crete, Greece. Palaeovertebrate 18:1–94. Close ), and from the Early Holocene (11,700‒11,400 BP) at Hallan Çemi (Türkiye) (58 Zeder, M. A., and M. D. Spitzer (2016). New insights into broad spectrum communities of the Early Holocene Near East: the birds of Hallan Çemi. Quaternary Science Reviews 151:140–159. Close ).

Cinereous Vulture remains from the Mousterian period (160,000‒40,000 BP) were identified at Il’skaya I, Caucasus, Russia (59 Hoffecker, J. F., G. Baryshnikov, and O. Potapova (1991). Vertebrate remains from the Mousterian site of Il’skaya I (northern Caucasus, U. S. S. R.): new analysis and interpretation. Journal of Archaeological Science 18(2):113–147. Close ), and Curata Cave, Romania (60 Gàl, E. (2003). Bird remains from Curata and Bordu Mare caves (Romania). Archaeofauna 12:183–192. Close ). Fossils attributed to the species from the Riss Glacial Stage (2.6 million to 11,700 BP) have been found at La Fage, France (61 Mourer-Chauviré, C. (1975). Les oiseaux du Pléistocène moyen et supérieur de France. Documents du Laboratoire de Géologie de la Faculté de Sciences de Lyon 64:1–624. Close ), and others from Riss-Würm Interglacial Stage deposits in Grotte de l’Observatoire, Combe-Grenal, Bruniquel, Petit Puymoyen, and Bourgeois-Delaunay, France (61 Mourer-Chauviré, C. (1975). Les oiseaux du Pléistocène moyen et supérieur de France. Documents du Laboratoire de Géologie de la Faculté de Sciences de Lyon 64:1–624. Close ). Remains were also found at Ifri n’Ammar, Morocco, in Iberomaurusian deposits (13,800‒17,000 BP) (62 Manegold, A., and R. Hutterer (2021). First substantial evidence for Old World vultures (Aegypiinae, Accipitridae) from the early Palaeolithic and Iberomaurusian of Morocco. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 95:503–514. Close ).

Finally, remains of the Cinereous Vulture have been identified at the settlement of Shahr-i Sokhta, Seistan, Iran (third Millennium BC) (63 Gala, M., and A. Tagliacozzo (2014). The role of birds in the settlement of Shahr-i Sokhta (Sistan, Iran) during the 3rd Millennium BC. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 24:319–330. Close ). Subfossil remains dating from the classical Greek period to Middle Ages were identified at Torone, Greece (64 Jánossy, D. (1994). Subfossil bird-faunas from Greece and Turkey. Aquila 101:45–52. Close ), and have been found at food dumps of Roman period in the Netherlands at Valkenburg-De Woerd (late first century AD) and Tiel-Passewaaijse Hogeweg (270‒350 AD), and in Belgium, at Oudenburg-Spegelaere (late fourth century AD), Tienen-Zijdelingsestraat (first century AD), Tongeren-Hondstraat (third century AD), and Arlon-NEU (end of the third century AD) (65 Groot, M., A. Ervynck, and F. Pigière (2010). Vagrant vultures: archaeological evidence for the cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) in the Low Countries. In Birds in Archaeology. Proceedings of the 6th Meeting of the ICAZ Bird Working Group in Groningen (23.8–27.8.2008) (W. Prummel, J. T. Zeiler and D.C. Brinkhuizen, Editors), Barkhuis en de Universiteitsbibliotheek Groningen, Eelde/Groningen, the Netherlands. pp. 241–251. Close ).