Cathartae

Andean condors Vultur gryphus, photographed by Gabriel Rojo.

Belongs within: Anomalogonatae.

The Cathartae include the New World vultures and condors of the Cathartidae, as well as the fossil Teratornithidae. Cathartids are specialised scavengers, but teratorns were active predators.

<==Cathartae
    |--Teratornithidae [Teratornithi] FP64
    |    |--Argentavis magnificens Campbell & Tonni 1980 AH03
    |    `--Teratornis C01
    |         |--T. incredibilis FP64
    |         `--T. merriami C01
    `--Cathartidae [Vulturidae] B94
         |--Parasarcoramphus Mourer-Chauviré 2002 M05
         |--Eocathartes Lambrecht 1935 FP64, M02
         |    `--*E. robustus Lambrecht 1935 M02
         |--Sarcoramphus Duméril 1806 [Sarcoramphidae] B94
         |    `--S. papa ZJM03
         |--Coragyps Geoffroy St.-Hilaire 1853 [Coragypidae] B94
         |    `--C. atratus ZJM03
         |--Diatropornis Oberholser 1899 M05 [=Tapinopus Milne-Edwards 1892 (preoc.) M02]
         |    `--*D. ellioti (Milne-Edwards 1892) [=*Tapinopus ellioti] M02
         |--Cathartes Illiger 1811 B94
         |    |--C. aura C76
         |    `--C. californianus S66
         |--Gymnogyps FP64
         |    |--G. amplus FP64
         |    `--G. californianus ZJM03
         `--Vultur Linnaeus 1758 B94
              |--*V. gryphus Linnaeus 1758 B94, C04
              |--V. fossilis Keferstein 1834 M02
              `--V. umbrosus (Cope 1874) [=Cathartes umbrosus] C76

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[AH03] Alvarenga, H. M. F., & E. Höfling. 2003. Systematic revision of the Phorusrhacidae (Aves: Ralliformes). Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 43 (4): 55-91.

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1-281.

[C04] Clarke, J. A. 2004. Morphology, phylogenetic taxonomy, and systematics of Ichthyornis and Apatornis (Avialae: Ornithurae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 286: 1-179.

[C76] Cope, E. D. 1876. Report upon the extinct Vertebrata obtained in New Mexico by parties of the expedition of 1874. Geographical Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian 4(2): i-iv, 1-370.

[C01] Cracraft, J. 2001. Avian evolution, Gondwana biogeography and the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction event. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B – Biological Sciences 268: 459-469.

[FP64] Fisher, J., & R. T. Peterson. 1964. The World of Birds: A comprehensive guide to general ornithology. Macdonald: London.

[M05] Mayr, G. 2005. The Paleogene fossil record of birds in Europe. Biological Reviews 80: 515-542.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[S66] Sclater, P. L. 1866. Notice of a specimen of the Californian vulture (Cathartes californianus) recently added to the Society's collection. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 366.

[ZJM03] Zeffer, A., L. C. Johansson & Å. Marmebro. 2003. Functional correlation between habitat use and leg morphology in birds (Aves). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 79: 461-484.