Gyps melitensis Lydekker, 1890
Maltese vulture
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Conservation Status
Extinct
Distribution
Austria, Corsica, Crete, France, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Sardinia, Sicily and Spain
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Lydekker, R. (1890). On the remains of some large extinct birds from the cavern-deposits of Malta. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 28: 403-411. [Abstract]
Other references:
Hunt, Christopher O. and Schembri, Patrick J. (1999). Quaternary environments and biogeography of the Maltese Islands, pp. 41-75. In: Mifsud, A. and Savona Ventura, C. (eds.). Facets of Maltese Prehistory. Malta: The Prehistoric Society of Malta, vii + 243 pp.
Louchart A (2002) Les oiseaux du Pléistocène de Corse et de quelques localités Sardes. Ecologie, évolution, biogéographie et extinctions. Documents des Laboratoires de Geologie, Lyon 155, 1–287.
Manegold, Albrecht and Hutterer, Rainer. (2021). First substantial evidence for Old World vultures (Aegypiinae, Accipitridae) from the early Palaeolithic and Iberomaurusian of Morocco. PalZ. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-021-00548-9
Marco, Antonio Sánchez. (2007). New Occurrences of the Extinct Vulture Gyps melitensis (Falconiformes, Aves) and a Reappraisal of the Paleospecies. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27(4): 1057-1061.
Marra F., Pandolfi L., Petronio C., Di Stefano G., Gaeta M. & Salari L., 2014. Reassessing the sedimentary deposits and vertebrate assemblages from Ponte Galeria area (Rome, central Italy): an archive for the Middle Pleistocene faunas of Europe. Earth-Science Reviews 139: 104–122.
Mlíkovský, Jiří. (2002). Cenozoic Birds of the World: Part 1: Europe. Praha, Czech Republic: Ninox Press.
Pavia, M. (2001). The Middle Pleistocene fossil avifauna from the "Elephas mnaidriensis Faunal Complex" of Sicily (Italy): preliminary results, pp. 497-501. In: Cavarretta, C., Gioia, P., Mussi, M. and Palombo, M. R. (eds.). The World of Elephants – International Congress, Rome. Proceedings of the 1st international congress – Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche, Rome. [automatic download]
Pavia, Marco et al. (2018). A new Middle Pleistocene bird assemblage from Cava di Breccia di Casal Selce (Ponte Galeria, Rome, Italy). Avocetta 42: 31-38.
Pereira E, Ottaviani-Spella M-M, Salotti M, Louchart A, and Quinif Y (2006) Tentative de reconstitution paléoenvironmentale de deux dépôts Quaternaires Corses. Geologica Belgica 9, 267–273.
Sardella R., Bedetti C., Iurino D.A., Pavia M. & Bellucci L., 2015. Comment on “Reassessing the sedimentary deposits and vertebrate assemblages from Ponte Galeria area (Rome, central Italy): An archive for the Middle Pleistocene faunas of Europe” by F Marra, L Pandolfi, C Petronio, G Di Stefano, M Gaeta, L. Salari [2014, Earth-Science Reviews. 139: 104– 122]. Earth-Science Reviews 147: 201–203.
Sayol, Ferran, Steinbauer, Manuel J., Blackburn, Tim M., Antonelli, Alexandre and Faurby, Søren. (2020). Anthropogenic extinctions conceal widespread evolution of flightlessness in birds. Science Advances 6(49): eabb6095. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abb6095 [Supplementary Material (Data File S1)]
Tyrberg T (1998) Pleistocene Birds of the Palearctic: a Catalogue. Nuttall Ornithological Club, Cambridge, MA.
Tyrberg, Tommy. (2008). The Late Pleistocene Continental Avian extinction – an evaluation of the fossil evidence. Oryctos 7: 249-269.
Tyrberg, Tommy. (2009). Holocene avian extinctions, pp. 63-106. In: Turvey, Samuel T. (ed.). Holocene Extinctions. Oxford, UK & New York, USA: Oxford University Press. xii + 352 pp.
Weesie, P. D. M. (1987). The Quaternary Avifauna of Crete, Greece. PhD. Thesis, Utrecht University, Utrecht. 90 pp. with 10 plates.