''Aquila'' is the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of true eagles. The genus name is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

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

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 o ...

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 genus ''Haliaeetus'' in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. Taxonomy and evolution The genus ''Haliaeetus'' ...

s, and other more heavyset

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

, but more recently they appear to be less distinct from the more slender accipitrine hawks than previously believed.

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

s are not a natural group, but denote essentially any

bird of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators h ...

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

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

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 philosopher. Brisson was born at Fontenay-le-Comte. The earlier part of his life was spent in the pursuit of natural history; his published works ...

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 p ...

(''Aquila chrysaetos'') as the

type species In 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 species that contains the biological type specimen ...

. ''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 medium-sized birds of prey inhabiting Europe, Asia, Afric ...

, ''

Lophaetus The long-crested eagle (''Lophaetus occipitalis'') is an African bird of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, r ...

'', '' 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 representative ...

'' and ''

Nisaetus ''Nisaetus'' (Crested hawk-eagles group) is a genus of subfamily Aquilinae found mainly in tropical Asia. They were earlier placed within the genus ''Spizaetus'' but molecular studies show that the Old World representatives were closer to the ge ...

'', 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. Between 2005 and 2014, the British Ornithologists' Union 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''), occasionally called the spotted eagle, is a large bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Its feathered legs indicate it is a member of the subfamily Aquilinae ...

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 Acc ...

, 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 heavyset Ac ...

(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 preserved ...

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural 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 nam ...

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

WebCite WebCite was an on-demand archive site, 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 a scholar cited or quoted ...

. 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 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 means "less recen ...

) *?'' 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 in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Aquila bivia'' (Late Pliocene of S USA) *''Aquila kurochkini'' (Late Pliocene of

Varshets Varshets ( bg, Вършец, 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 is 5,444. The town ...

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

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

of Castiglione,

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

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

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

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

Late Quaternary The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene together ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

)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, ''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 ''Titanohierax gloveralleni'' is an extinct hawk species known from fossils found in Cuba, Hispaniola (today the Dominican Republic and Haiti), and The Bahamas. Description ''Titanohierax'' was a very large hawk, with a measured fore-claw len ...

''. * ''"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 (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Roma ...

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

Taxonomy and systematics

Species

Fossil record

Notes

References

External links