''Aquila'' is the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of true eagles. The genus name is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "eagle", possibly derived from ''aquilus'', "dark in colour". It is often united with the

sea eagle A sea eagle or fish eagle (also called erne or ern, mostly in reference to the white-tailed eagle) is any of the birds of prey in the subfamily Haliaeetinae of the bird of prey family Accipitridae. Ten extant species exist, currently described w ...

buteo ''Buteo'' is a genus of medium to fairly large, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings. In the Old World, members of this genus are called " buzzards", but "hawk" is used in the New World (Etymology: ''Buteo'' is the Latin name ...

s, and other more heavyset

Accipitridae The Accipitridae () is one of the four families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds of prey with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects ...

, but more recently they appear to be less distinct from the slenderer

accipitrine The Accipitrinae are the subfamily of the Accipitridae often known as the "true" hawks. The subfamily contains 73 species that are divided into 11 genera. It includes the genus ''Accipiter'' which formerly included many more species. The large g ...

hawks than previously believed.

Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

s are not a natural group but denote essentially any

bird of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

large enough to hunt sizeable (about 50 cm long or more overall)

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

prey.

Taxonomy and systematics

The

''Aquila'' was introduced by the French zoologist

Mathurin Jacques Brisson Mathurin Jacques Brisson (; 30 April 1723 – 23 June 1806) was a French zoologist and natural philosophy, natural philosopher. Brisson was born on 30 April 1723 at Fontenay-le-Comte in the Vendée department of western France. Note that page 14 ...

in 1760 with the

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

(''Aquila chrysaetos'') as the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

. ''Aquila'' belongs to a close-knit group of "typical" eagles including genera ''

Hieraaetus The genus ''Hieraaetus'', sometimes known as small eagles or hawk-eagles, denotes a group of smallish eagles usually placed in the accipitrid subfamilies Buteoninae or Aquilinae. They are generally medium-sized birds of prey inhabiting Europ ...

'', '' Lophaetus'', '' Ictinaetus'' ''and Clanga.'' This group occurs as a clade within the larger group of "booted" eagles (tribe Aquilini or subfamily Aquilinae).Boyd, Joh
Accipitriformes
, ''Taxonomy in Flux Checklist''. The plumage of the more basal members of the booted-eagle group, such as ''

Spizaetus ''Spizaetus'' is the typical hawk-eagle birds of prey genus found in the tropics of the Americas. It was however used to indicate a group of tropical eagles that included species occurring in southern and southeastern Asia and one representativ ...

'' and ''

Nisaetus ''Nisaetus'', the crested hawk-eagles, is a genus of raptor in the subfamily Aquilinae, found mainly in tropical Asia. They were earlier placed within the genus '' Spizaetus'' but molecular studies show that the Old World representatives of tha ...

'', generally has barred underparts in adults, and is distinctly different in juveniles which have plain, pale underparts. In contrast, within the ''Aquila–Hieraaetus–Lophaetus'' clade, adults are generally dark, with juveniles more closely resembling the adults. ''Hieraaetus'' species have both dark and light (or "pied") morphs, with the latter having light, unbarred under-parts. Research in molecular genetics found ''Aquila'' and ''

'' to be

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

. Between 2005 and 2014, the

British Ornithologists' Union The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds (ornithology) around the world in order to understand their biology and aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry Baker ...

included both Bonelli's and the booted eagle in ''Aquila''. Also, '' Clements' Checklist'' merged all ''Hieraetus'' species into ''Aquila'' from 2001 to 2009. The current approach is to keep ''Hieraaetus'' as a separate genus, with Bonelli's eagle and the African hawk-eagle moved into ''Aquila'' and

Wahlberg's eagle Wahlberg's eagle (''Hieraaetus wahlbergi'') is a bird of prey that is native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it is a seasonal migrant in the woodlands and savannas. It is named after the Swedish naturalist Johan August Wahlberg. Like all eagles, it ...

moved into ''Hieraaetus''. The spotted eagles

greater spotted eagle The greater spotted eagle (''Clanga clanga''), also called the spotted eagle, is a large migratory bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is a member of the subfamily Aquilinae, commonly known as "booted eagles".Helbig, A. J., Kocum, A., ...

lesser spotted eagle The lesser spotted eagle (''Clanga pomarina'') is a large Eastern European bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. The typical eagles are often united with the buteos, sea eagles, and other more heavy-set Ac ...

, and

Indian spotted eagle The Indian spotted eagle (''Clanga hastata'') is a large bird of prey native to South Asia. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. The typical eagles are often united with the buteos, sea eagles and other more heavy-set A ...

(previously ''Aquila clanga'', ''A. pomarina'', ''A. (p.) hastata'') are thought to be genetically closer to ''Ictinaetus'' and ''Lophoaetus'' than to other ''Aquila'' species, and may be placed into a separate genus, '' Clanga''. Members of ''Aquila'' (excluding those moved to ''Clanga'' and ''Hieraaetus'', but including ''A. fasciata/spilogaster'') share two deletions in the (nuclear) LDH gene, as well as similarities in mitochondrial cyt-B gene sequence, though one of these deletions is reverted in ''A. chrysaetos''.

Species

The genus ''Aquila'' contains 11 species:

Fossil record

Numerous

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

of eagles have been described.Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002)
''Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe''Archived
2011-03-07 at

WebCite WebCite is an intermittently available archive site, originally designed to digitally preserve scientific and educationally important material on the web by taking snapshots of Internet contents as they existed at the time when a blogger or ...

. Ninox Press, Prague, p. 194. Many have been moved to other genera, but several appear to be correctly assigned to this genus: *'' Aquila bullockensis'' (Middle

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

) *?'' Aquila delphinensis'' (Middle/Late Miocene of Grive-Saint-Alban, France) *?'' Aquila pennatoides'' (Middle/Late Miocene of Grive-Saint-Alban, France) *''Aquila'' sp. (Late Miocene – Late

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Aquila bivia'' (Late Pliocene of S USA) *''

Aquila kurochkini ''Aquila kurochkini'' is an extinct species of '' Aquila'' that lived during the Gelasian stage of the Pleistocene epoch. Distribution Fossils of ''A. kurochkini'' are known from the site of Varshets in northwestern Bulgaria Bulgaria ...

'' (Late Pliocene of

Varshets Varshets (, variously transliterated; ) is a spa town in Montana Province, northwestern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Varshets Municipality. As of December 2019, its population was 5,444. The town is located on th ...

, Bulgaria) *''Aquila'' sp. (Middle

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

of Castiglione,

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

) *''? Aquila fossilis'' (Middle/Late Pleistocene of

Monte Reale Monte Reale is a mountain of the Ligurian Apennines. It is located in the Province of Genoa along the watershed between the basin of the Scrivia Torrent and that of the Vobbia, its tributary to the right. It is situated in the more western par ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

) *''

Aquila nipaloides Aquila may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Aquila'', a series of books by S.P. Somtow * ''Aquila'', a 1997 book by Andrew Norriss * ''Aquila'' (children's magazine), a UK-based children's magazine * ''Aquila'' (journal), an orni ...

'' (Pleistocene of Sardinia and Corsica) * ''?Aquila'' sp. (

Late Quaternary The Holocene () is the current geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene together form the Qu ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

)Madagascar and other Islands. Human Settlers Invade Paradise
. Endangered Species Handbook. Retrieved on 2013-04-17. Whether ''"

" edwardsi'' (Middle -? Late Miocene of SW Europe) belongs into ''Aquila'' or the hawk-eagles (if the latter are indeed distinct) is unclear. Its initial name, ''"Aquila" minuta'' Milne-Edwards, 1871, is preoccupied by a junior synonym of the

booted eagle The booted eagle (''Hieraaetus pennatus'', also classified as ''Aquila pennata'') is a medium-sized mostly migratory bird of prey with a wide distribution in the Palearctic and southern Asia, wintering in the tropics of Africa and Asia, with a ...

, ''A. minuta'' Brehm, 1831. Not placed in ''Aquila'' anymore are: * ''"Aquila" gervaisii'' – now in '' Palaeohierax'' * ''"Aquila" borrasi'', ''"A." sodalis'' – now in ''

Buteogallus ''Buteogallus'' is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. All members of this genus are essentially neotropical, but the distribution of a single species extends slightly into the extreme southwestern United States. Many of the sp ...

'', ''B. borrasi'' was long placed in '' Titanohierax''. * ''"Aquila" pliogryps'' – now in ''

'' * ''"Aquila" corroyi'', ''"A." depredator'', ''"A." hypogaea'', and ''"A." prisca'' – now in '' Aquilavus'' * ''"Aquila" ferox'', ''"A." lydekkeri'' – protostrigid

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

s, now in ''

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

''. ''"Aquila" danana'' (Snake Creek Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Loup Fork, USA), occasionally placed in ''

Geranoaetus ''Geranoaetus'' is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae The Accipitridae () is one of the four families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds of prey with strongly hooked bills and variable m ...

'' or ''

Buteo ''Buteo'' is a genus of medium to fairly large, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings. In the Old World, members of this genus are called " buzzards", but "hawk" is used in the New World (Etymology: ''Buteo'' is the Latin name ...

Taxonomy and systematics

Species

Fossil record

Notes

References

External links