Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Subsectio: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Cladus: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Euornithes
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Ornithurae
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Ordo: Ciconiiformes
Familia: Ciconiidae
Genus: Leptoptilos
Species: L. crumeniferus - L. dubius - L. javanicus
Name
Leptoptilos Lesson, 1831: 583
References
Lesson, R.P. 1830–1831. Traité d'ornithologie, ou, Tableau méthodique des ordres, sous-ordres, familles, tribus, genres, sous-genres et races d'oiseaux : ouvrage entièrement neuf, formant le catalogue le plus complet des espèces réunies dans les collections publiques de la France. F. G. Levrault, Paris. Vol. 1: pp. i–xxxii, 1–659. BHL Reference page. [original description: p. 583]
Vernacular names
беларуская: Марабу
čeština: Marabu
Deutsch: Marabus
Esperanto: Afrika marabuo
svenska: Krävstorkar
Leptoptilos is a genus of very large tropical storks, also known as the adjutant bird. The name means thin (lepto) feather (ptilos). Two species are resident breeders in southern Asia, and the marabou stork is found in Sub-Saharan Africa.
These are huge birds, typically 110–150 cm tall with a 210–250 cm wingspan. The three species each have a black upper body and wings, and white belly and undertail. The head and neck are bare like those of a vulture. The huge bill is long and thick. Juveniles are a duller, browner version of the adult.
Leptoptilos storks are gregarious colonial breeders in wetlands, building large stick nests in trees. They feed on frogs, insects, young birds, lizards and rodents. They are frequent scavengers, and the naked head and neck are adaptations to this, as are those of the vultures with which they often feed. A feathered head would become rapidly clotted with blood and other substances when a scavenging bird's head was inside a large corpse, and the bare head is easier to keep clean.
Most storks fly with neck outstretched, but the three Leptoptilos storks retract their necks in flight like a heron.
Species
Extant species
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Leptoptilos javanicus | Lesser adjutant | India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, Singapore, Indonesia and Cambodia |
 |
Leptoptilos dubius | Greater adjutant | northern India |
 |
Leptoptilos crumenifer[1] | Marabou stork | Africa south of the Sahara |
Fossils
There is an ample fossil record of this genus. L. titan, which was hunted by prehistoric humans, was truly gigantic, and L. falconeri possibly was one of the most widespread storks worldwide during the Pliocene:[2]
†Leptoptilos falconeri (Early to Late Pliocene of south Asia and east Africa)
†Leptoptilos indicus (Late Pliocene of Siwalik, India) – formerly Cryptociconia indica, may be the same as L. falconeri (Louchart et al. 2005)
†Leptoptilos lüi (Middle Pleistocene of Jinniushan, Liaoning, China)
†Leptoptilos patagonicus (Puerto Madryn Late Miocene of Valdés Peninsula, Argentina)
†Leptoptilos pliocenicus (Early Pliocene of Odessa, Ukraine and Urugus, Ethiopia to Late Pliocene of Koro Toro, Chad and Olduvai, Tanzania) – includes L. cf. falconeri, may be the same as L. falconeri
†Leptoptilos richae (Beglia Late Miocene of Bled ed Douarah, Tunisia, and Wadi Moghara, Egypt?)
†Leptoptilos robustus (Pleistocene, Flores, Indonesia)[3]
†Leptoptilos titan (Notopuro Middle/Late Pleistocene of Watualang, Java, Indonesia)
†Leptoptilos sp. (Ngorora Late Miocene of Baringo District, Kenya: Louchart et al. 2005)
†Leptoptilos siwalicensis from the Siwalik deposits (Late Miocene? to Late Pliocene) may belong to this genus or to a closely related one (Louchart et al. 2005).
In culture
The adjutant bird features in the arms of Baron Sinha. In the satirical French puppet show Le Bébête Show, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was, for a time, depicted as a Leptoptilos.
References
David, N.; Gosselin, M. (2011). "Gender agreement of avian species-group names under Article 31.2.2 of the ICZN Code". Bull. Brit. Orn. Club. 131 (2): 103–115.
Louchart, Antoine; Vignaud, Patrick; Likius, Andossa; Brunet, Michel; White, Tim D. (2005). "A large extinct marabou stork in African Pliocene hominid sites, and a review of the fossil species of Leptoptilos" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 50 (3): 549–563.
Meijer HJ, Due RA (2010). "A new species of giant marabou stork (Aves: Ciconiiformes) from the Pleistocene of Liang Bua, Flores (Indonesia)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 160: 707–724. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2010.00616.x.
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