Gyps melitensis

[Deleted]

This was something like a giant vulture, I think it was not that giant but larger than the living Gyps fulvus.

It is possible that it still lived when people came to crete to build the minoan culture, it seems that they pictured this bird together with Athene cretensis another ice-age-bird from crete !
So all of theese birds belong to the bronze-age and it is possible that they only died out because people left them not enough food.

Unfortunatly I have not seen theese pictures, have You ?

Tell me.

Bye Alex

[cryptodude100]

How big is Gyps melitensis?

[adzebill]

It's bones are about 20% larger than those from Gyps fulvus.

[cryptodude100]

thanks

[cryptodude100]

If Gyps melitensis was one-fifth greater than vultur monachus, then what are the linear measurenments of this giant vulture? An Eurasian Black Vulture has a length of 100-110 cm, a wingspan of 250-295 cm and a body mass of 7-12.5 kg.

[cryptodude100]

Does anyone know?

[cryptodude100]

I guess nobody knows

[cryptodude100]

Not much known about this giant vulture!!

[surroundx]

"One of the two remains of Aves belongs to Gyps melitensis Lydekker, and extinct vulture (griffon) species (Pavia, 2001)."

Source:

www2.uibk.ac.at/downloads/c715/geoalp_2_05/05mangano.pdf

Reference:

Pavia, M. (2001). The Middle Pleistocene fossil avifauna from the "Elephas mnaidriensis Faunal Complex" of Sicily (Italy): preliminary results, pp. 497-501. In: Cavarretta, G., Gioia, P., Mussi, M. and Palombo, M. R. (eds.). Roma: La Terra degli Elefanti. Consiglio Nazionale delle Richerche.

[surroundx]

Manegold, Albrecht and Hutterer, Rainer. (2021). First substantial evidence for Old World vultures (Aegypiinae, Accipitridae) from the early Palaeolithic and Iberomaurusian of Morocco. PalZ. doi: doi.org/10.1007/s12542-021-00548-9