Lappet-faced vulture
The lappet-faced vulture or Nubian vulture (Torgos tracheliotos) is an Old World vulture belonging to the bird order Accipitriformes, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is the only member of the genus Torgos. It is not closely related to the superficially similar New World vultures, and does not share the good sense of smell of some members of that family of birds.
| Lappet-faced vulture | |
|---|---|
| At Etosha National Park, Namibia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Accipitriformes |
| Family: | Accipitridae |
| Genus: | Torgos Kaup, 1828 |
| Species: | T. tracheliotos |
| Binomial name | |
| Torgos tracheliotos (Forster, 1796) | |
| Subspecies | |
| |
| Range of T. tracheliotos Resident Possibly Extant (resident) Non-breeding Extinct Probably extinct | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Torgos tracheliotus (lapsus) Vultur tracheliotos J. R. Forster, 1796 Vultur auricularis Daudin, 1800 Vultur aegypius Temminck, 1826 Vultur imperialis Temminck, 1827 Vultur nubicus H. Smith, 1829 | |
The lappet-faced vulture was formerly considered monotypical, but now is separated into two subspecies. The nominate race lives throughout Africa. The subspecies T. t. negevensis, differing considerably in appearance from African vultures (as described below) is endemic to the Arabian peninsula.