| Leptoptilos Temporal range: LateMiocene to Recent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Marabou stork nearSouth Luangwa National Park, Zambia | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Ciconiiformes |
| Family: | Ciconiidae |
| Genus: | Leptoptilos Lesson, RP, 1831 |
| Type species | |
| Ardea argala =Ardea dubia Latham, 1790 | |
| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
Cryptociconia | |
Leptoptilos is a genus of very large tropicalstorks, commonly known asadjutants. The name means thin (lepto) feather (ptilos). Two species are resident breeders in southernAsia, and themarabou stork is found inSub-Saharan Africa.
These are hugebirds, typically 110–150 cm (3 ft 7 in – 4 ft 11 in) tall with a 210–250 cm (6 ft 11 in – 8 ft 2 in) 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 avulture. The hugebill is long and thick. Juveniles are a duller, browner version of the adult.
Leptoptilos storks are gregarious colonial breeders inwetlands, building large stick nests in trees. They feed onfrogs,insects, young birds,lizards androdents. They are frequentscavengers, 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 threeLeptoptilos storks retract their necks in flight like aheron.
The genusLeptoptilos was introduced in 1831 by the French naturalistRené Lesson.[1] The genus name combines theAncient Greekleptos meaning "delicate" or "slender" withptilon meaning "feather".[2] Thetype species was subsequently designated as thegreater adjutant byGeorge Robert Gray.[3][4]
The genus contains three extant species.[5]
| Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marabou stork
| Leptoptilos crumenifer (Lesson, RP, 1831) | Africa south of the Sahara | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Lesser adjutant
| Leptoptilos javanicus (Horsfield, 1821) | South and Southeast Asia, from India and Sri Lanka to Indonesia | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT |
| Greater adjutant
| Leptoptilos dubius (Gmelin, JF,, 1789) | northern India to mainland southeast Asia | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT |
There is an amplefossil record of this genus. Many fossils members of the genus were much larger than living species, standing as tall as a man, with the earliest beingLeptoptilos falconeri from thePliocene of Afro-Eurasia. GiantLeptoptilos storks survived into theLate Pleistocene on the Southeast Asian islands of Java (L. titan) and Flores (L. robustus).[6]
†Leptoptilos siwalicensis from theSiwalik deposits (Late Miocene? to Late Pliocene) may belong to this genus or to a closely related one (Louchartet al. 2005).
Genera ofstorks and their extinct allies | |||||||||||||
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| Other | |
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