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

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Abstract

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.

Kurzfassung

Ein einzelner, gut erhaltener Tarsometatarsus eines Altweltgeiers (Aegypiinae) aus dem frühen Pliozän (MN 15) von Pelinei, Moldavien, wurde ursprünglich von Tugarinov (1940:199) als Aegypius melitensis (Lydekker, 1890) beschrieben. Mlíkovský (2002:189) führte ihn unter Gyps melitensis auf, bezweifelte aber, dass das Fossil tatsächlich dieser Art zugeordnet werden könnte. Eine erneute Untersuchung des Fossils von Pelinei und detailliertere Vergleiche mit fossilen und rezenten Aegypiinae bestätigen nicht nur, dass es sich um eine neue Art von Aegypius handelt, sondern auch, dass Tugarinovs (1940) Neukombination von Gyps melitensis Lydekker, 1890 mit Aegypius nicht gerechtfertigt ist. Der Aegypius-Fund von Pelinei ist der bislang älteste eindeutige Nachweis für Aegypiinae in Europa.

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Acknowledgments

We thank S. Tränkner (SGN) for taking photographs of the tarsometatarsus of Gyps fulvus. We are grateful to J. Cooper and R. Prŷs-Jones (NHM/Tring), R. Govender (SAM), G. Mayr (SGN), S. Rick and T. Töpfer (ZMAK), A.B. Savinetsky and O.A. Krylovich (IPEE), C. Lefèvre (MNHN), as well as P. Eckhoff and S. Frahnert (ZMB) for allowing access to collections and specimens. R. Hutterer (ZMAK) kindly permitted access to a specimen of A. monachus from the SAMP collections. We thank Z. Boev, D. Michailidis and C. Mourer-Chauviré for references and information on the early fossil record of Aegypiinae in S and SE Europe. Comments of C. Mourer-Chauviré helped to improve a previous version of the manuscript. AM was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft grant MA 4809/1-1, and Synthesys grant GB-TAF-2785. NZ was supported by grants of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (14-04-01223) and of the President of Russian Federation (MK-7463.2013.4).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Staatliches Museum Für Naturkunde Karlsruhe, Erbprinzenstraße 13, 76133, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Albrecht Manegold

  2. Cabinet of Paleornithology, Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya 123, Moscow, 117997, Russia

    Nikita Zelenkov

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  1. Albrecht Manegold
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Correspondence to Albrecht Manegold.

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Manegold, A., Zelenkov, N. A new species of Aegypius vulture from the early Pliocene of Moldova is the earliest unequivocal evidence of Aegypiinae in Europe. Paläontol Z 89, 529–534 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-014-0242-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-014-0242-4

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