Aegypiinae is one of two subfamilies of Accipitridae that are referred to as Old World vultures, the other being the Gypaetinae. They are not closely related to the Gypaetinae, and are instead a sister group to the serpent-eagles (Circaetinae).
Presently found throughout much of Africa, Asia, and parts of Europe, fossil evidence indicates that as recently as the Late Pleistocene, they ranged into Australia.
Taxonomy The subfamily Aegypiinae was introduced (as the family Aegypiidae) in 1924 by the British zoologist William Lutley Sclater with Aegypius Savigny, 1809, as the type genus.
The cladogram of the Aegypiinae shown below is based on a molecular phylogenetic study of the Accipitridae by Therese Catanach and collaborators that was published in 2024.
Genera Genus Common and binomial names Image Range Necrosyrtes Hooded vultureNecrosyrtes monachus Sub-Saharan Africa Gyps Griffon vultureGyps fulvus Mountains in southern Europe, north Africa and Asia White-rumped vultureGyps bengalensis Northern and central India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and southeast Asia Rüppell's vultureGyps rueppelli The Sahel region of central Africa Indian vultureGyps indicus Central and peninsular India Slender-billed vultureGyps tenuirostris The Sub-Himalayan regions of India and into Southeast Asia Himalayan vultureGyps himalayensis The Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau White-backed vultureGyps africanus Savannahs of west and east Africa Cape vultureGyps coprotheres Southern Africa Sarcogyps Red-headed vultureSarcogyps calvus The Indian subcontinent, with small disjunct populations in Southeast Asia Trigonoceps White-headed vultureTrigonoceps occipitalis Sub-Saharan Africa. Extinct populations have occurred in Indonesia. Torgos Lappet-faced vultureTorgos tracheliotos Sub-Saharan Africa, the Sinai and Negev deserts and north-west Saudi Arabia Aegypius Cinereous vultureAegypius monachus Southwestern and central Europe, Turkey, the central Middle East, northern India, central and east Asia †Aegypius jinniushanensis Pleistocene of China †Aegypius prepyrenaicusPleistocene of Spain
Fossil genera Subfamily Genus Common and binomial names Image RangeAegypiinae†Cryptogyps†Cryptogyps lacertosusPleistocene of Australia†Gansugyps†Gansugyps linxiaensisMiocene of China † = extinct
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Further reading