California condor
New World vulture
The California condor (Gymnogyps californianus), is a New World vulture, the largest North American land bird. It became extinct in the wild in 1987 (all remaining wild individuals were captured), but has been reintroduced to northern Arizona and southern Utah (including the Grand Canyon area and Zion National Park), the coastal mountains of central and southern California, and northern Baja California. It is the only surviving member of its genus.
California condor Temporal range: Pleistocene – Holocene
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At San Diego Zoo, USA | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Accipitriformes |
Family: | Cathartidae |
Genus: | Gymnogyps |
Species: | G. californianus
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Binomial name | |
Gymnogyps californianus (Shaw, 1797)
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Synonyms | |
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In 1970 there were only a few dozen left. In 1987 there were only 10 left. Currently there are 400 individuals, with about 200 left in the wild and the others in captive breeding.
References
change- ↑ BirdLife International (2013). "Gymnogyps californianus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.