A new species of Aegypius vulture from the early Pliocene of Moldova is the earliest unequivocal evidence of Aegypiinae in Europe

An isolated, well-preserved tarsometatarsus of a huge aegypiine vulture from the early Pliocene (MN 15) of Pelinei, Moldova was originally described as Aegypius melitensis (Lydekker, 1890 ) by Tugarinov ( 1940 :199). It was listed under Gyps melitensis by Mlíkovský ( 2002 :189), who expressed his do...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Paläontologische Zeitschrift 2015-09, Vol.89 (3), p.529-534
Main Authors: Manegold, Albrecht, Zelenkov, Nikita
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Paleontology
Research Paper
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Summary:An isolated, well-preserved tarsometatarsus of a huge aegypiine vulture from the early Pliocene (MN 15) of Pelinei, Moldova was originally described as Aegypius melitensis (Lydekker, 1890 ) by Tugarinov ( 1940 :199). It was listed under Gyps melitensis by Mlíkovský ( 2002 :189), who expressed his doubts that this fossil could actually be referred to this species. Re-examination of the specimen and more detailed comparisons with extinct and modern Aegypiinae confirm that it is part of Aegypius , and that Tugarinov’s ( 1940 ) placement of the Pleistocene Gyps melitensis Lydekker, 1890 into Aegypius is evidently unsubstantiated. The vulture from Pelinei is the earliest unequivocal evidence of Aegypiinae in Europe.
ISSN:0031-0220
1867-6812
DOI:10.1007/s12542-014-0242-4