Aquilinae

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Aquilinae
Crowned eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus)

Crowned eagle ( Stephanoaetus coronatus )

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Birds of prey (Accipitriformes)
Family : Hawk species (Accipitridae)
Subfamily : Aquilinae
Scientific name
Aquilinae
Gadow , 1893

The Aquilinae are a subfamily of the hawk family within the birds of prey . A German name has not yet been established. Common to all representatives of the Aquilinae are the legs, which are feathered up to the toes, in English the taxon is therefore called "Booted Eagles" (literally translated: "Puss in Boots"). This subfamily includes the real eagles , the crowned eagle and the martial eagle, most of those large birds of prey that can also beat vertebrates of considerable size .

The systematics of the genera and species within the Aquilinae has been controversial for a long time and has been in a state of upheaval in recent years.

description

The Aquilinae are medium to very large birds of prey. The smallest species, the booted eagle , has a wingspan of 113 to 138 cm, weighs a maximum of 1.25 kg and is therefore about the size of a common buzzard . The largest species of the genera Aquila , Stephanoaetus and Polemaetus are among the largest birds of prey. The largest species of the subfamily is the golden eagle with a wingspan of 180 to 234 cm and a maximum weight of 6.7 kg. The representatives of this subfamily have only one common morphological feature, these are the legs, which are feathered to the toes. A large part of the species also has a feather bonnet (genera Spizaetus , Oraetus , Spizastur , Stephanoaetus , Lophaetus ).

distribution

The subfamily is distributed worldwide, among the larger land masses, only Antarctica is not populated. The main focus of the distribution is in the tropics of Africa , Asia and Australia ; only four species occur in the tropics of South America . Only a few species of the real eagle (genus Aquila ) colonize the cooler, temperate to arctic climatic zones.

Way of life

All species of the Aquilinae live primarily on small to medium-sized vertebrates, which they usually prey on themselves. Mammals and birds dominate the prey spectrum. In addition, the eagles use a wide range of the remaining terrestrial vertebrates and larger insects. Carrots eat almost all species of the real eagle (genus Aquila ) regularly, but the other members of the subfamily only occasionally.

All species studied in more detail are monogamous and strictly territorial. They build large clumps on trees or in rock walls. The clutch consists of one to four eggs. In many species the nest siblings are aggressive towards each other, so the youngest siblings often do not survive. A number of species (eg spotted eagle , greater spotted eagle , Black Eagle and crown eagle ) is obligatory Cainism , so that only one young bird is fledged.

External system

A subfamily Aquilinae was proposed as early as the late 19th century based on morphological characteristics. Whether the Aquilinae are actually monophyletic was controversial in the following years, in investigations based on morphological characteristics, the monophyly was both confirmed and rejected. The membership of different genres was also discussed again and again. Recent studies of the mitochondrial DNA and the DNA of the cell nucleus have confirmed the monophyly of the taxon within the Accipitridae. According to Lerner & Mindell, the sister taxon of the Aquilinae forms a species-rich group with the subfamilies Melieraxinae, Accipitrinae, Milvinae, Haliaeetinae and Buteoninae.

Internal system

With a total of 35 to 36 species, the Aquilinae are among the most species-rich subfamilies within the hawk-like species (Accipitridae). The following assignment of the 9 genera to the subfamily Aquilinae follows Lerner & Mindell. The taxonomic classification as species essentially follows Ferguson-Lees & Christie; differently, the morphologically and genetically well differentiated forms of the Spanish Imperial Eagle and the Aquila hastata, which was previously considered a subspecies of the Lesser Spotted Eagle, are listed as separate species.

The monophyly of the genera Real Eagle ( Aquila ) and Bonelli's Eagle ( Hieraaetus ) has been questioned for a long time, partly because of the obvious morphological similarities between the Wahlbergsadler ( Aquila wahlbergi ) and the Booted eagle ( Hieraaetus pennatus ). Some authors have therefore placed the mountain eagle in the genus Hieraaetus . The following illustration of the relationships is based on the molecular genetic studies by Lerner & Mindell and takes 29 species into account. Wink & Sauer-Gürth used the same methods, but examined significantly fewer species overall. They came to the same conclusion with regard to the species they examined.

 Aquilinae 

Old World Crested Eagle ( Nisaetus )


   

New World crested eagle ( Spizaetus )


   

Stephanoaetus


   

Hieraaetus kienerii


   

Polemaetus bellicosus


   

Lophaetus occipitalis


   


Ictinaetus malayensis


   

Aquila clanga


   

Aquila hastata




   

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Aquila wahlbergi


   

Hieraaetus ayresii


   

Hieraaetus morphnoides morphnoides


   

Hieraaetus pennatus


   

Hieraaetus morphnoides weiskei






   


Aquila nipalensis


   

Aquila heliaca


   

Aquila rapax




   

Aquila chrysaetos


   

Spizaetus africanus


   


Aquila verreauxii


   

Aquila audax


   

Aquila gurneyi




   

Hieraaetus spilogaster


   

Hieraetus fasciatus








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As shown here, the crested eagles of the Old World ( Nisaetus , formerly assigned to Spizaetus ) form a monophylum according to Lerner & Mindell , which is clearly differentiated from the crested eagles of the New World . The taxon of the New World crested eagle also includes the Spizastur and Oroaetus , which were previously regarded as monotypical genera . Lerner & Mindell confirmed the systematic special positions of the crowned eagle ( Stephanoaetus ) and martial eagle ( Polemaetus ) as each monotypical genus.

According to the molecular genetic studies by Wink & Sauer-Gürth as well as by Lerner & Mindell, the monophyly of the previous genera Aquila and Hieraaetus is not given. According to Wink & Sauer-Gürth, the results of the genetic investigation support the already proposed combination of the genera Real Eagles and Bonelli's Eagle ( Aquila and Hieraaetus ) to form one genus Aquila ; according to Wink & Sauer-Gürth, the crested eagle ( Lophaetus occipitalis ) would also be included in this taxon integrate. According to the findings of Lerner & Mindell presented here, the monotypical genus Malay Eagle ( Ictinaetus ) and Spizaetus africanus should also be added to this genus .

The rufous-bellied hawk-eagle ( Hieraaetus kienerii ) is by Lerner & Mindell no closer with the other members of the genus Hieraaetus related and differs morphologically from this genus sharply. Accordingly, the establishment of a monotypical genus with the red-bellied eagle as the only species would be justified.

Overall, the naming of the individual species and genera within the Aquilinae is in great need of revision. As a first consequence, the genus Hieraaetus has already been dissolved in some newer species lists and specialist books and its representatives have been assigned to Aquila .

literature

  • J. Ferguson-Lees, DA Christie: Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London 2001, ISBN 0-7136-8026-1 .
  • HRL Lerner, DP Mindell: Phylogeny of eagles, Old World vultures and other Accipitridae based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37; 2005, pp. 327-346.
  • M. Wink, H. Sauer-Gürth: Phylogenetic Relationships in Diurnal Raptors based on nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial and nuclear marker genes . In: RD Chancellor, B.-U. Meyburg (Ed.): Raptors Worldwide . Berlin / Budapest 2004, pp. 483–498.

Web links

Commons : Accipitridae  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ RN Holdaway: An exploratory phylogenetic analysis of the genera of the Accipitridae, with notes on the biogeography of the family . In: B.-U. Meyburg, RD Chancellor (Ed.): Raptor conservation Today . Berlin / London / Paris, p. 610.
  2. ↑ M. Jollie: A contribution to the morphology and phylogeny of the Falconiformes, Part 2. Evol. Theory 2; 1977, pp. 209-300.
  3. ^ RN Holdaway: An exploratory phylogenetic analysis of the genera of the Accipitridae, with notes on the biogeography of the family . In: B.-U. Meyburg, RD Chancellor (Ed.): Raptor conservation Today . Berlin / London / Paris, pp. 601–649.
  4. ↑ Wink & Sauer-Gürth, 2004.
  5. ↑ a b Lerner & Mindell, 2005.
  6. ^ Lerner & Mindell, 2005; see. also Accipitridae
  7. ↑ a b Ferguson-Lees and Christie, 2001.
  8. ^ I. Seibold, AJ Helbig, B.-U. Meyburg, JJ Negro & M. Wink: Genetic Differentiation and Molecular Phylogeny of European Aquila Eagles according to cytochrome b Nucleotide Sequences . In: B.-U. Meyburg & RD Chancellor: Eagle Studies . WWGBP, Paris / London / Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-9801961-1-9 , pp. 1-16.
  9. ↑ Ülo Väli: Mitochondrial DNA sequences support species status for the Indian Spotted Eagle Aquila hastata . Bull. BOC 126, No. 3, 2006, pp. 238-242 ( on biostor.org ).
  10. ↑ Lerner & Mindell, 2005, Fig. 1, p. 337.
  11. ↑ Wink & Sauer-Gürth, 2004, Fig. 2, p. 488.
  12. ↑ Wink & Sauer-Gürth, 2004, p. 491.
  13. ↑ Lerner & Mindell, 2005, p. 341.
  14. ^ PH Barthel & AJ Helbig: List of species of birds in Germany . Limicola 19; 2005, pp. 89-111.
  15. ^ Theodor Mebs & Daniel Schmidt: The birds of prey in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-440-09585-1 .
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on October 24, 2007 .