Leptoptilos
Encyclopedia
Leptoptilos is a genus of very large tropical stork
s. Two species are resident breeders in southern Asia
, and the Marabou Stork
is found in sub-Saharan Africa
.
These are huge bird
s, 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 wetland
s, building large stick nest
s in trees. They feed on frog
s, insect
s, young birds, lizard
s and rodent
s. They are frequent scavenger
s, 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
.
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
:
"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).
Stork
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae. They are the only family in the biological order Ciconiiformes, which was once much larger and held a number of families....
s. Two species are resident breeders in southern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and the Marabou Stork
Marabou Stork
The Marabou Stork, Leptoptilos crumeniferus, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It breeds in Africa south of the Sahara, occurring in both wet and arid habitats, often near human habitation, especially waste tips...
is found in sub-Saharan Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
These are huge bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, 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
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
. The huge bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
is long and thick. Juveniles are a duller, browner version of the adult.
Leptoptilos storks are gregarious colonial breeders in wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s, building large stick nest
Nest
A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...
s in trees. They feed on frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s, insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, young birds, lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s and rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s. They are frequent scavenger
Scavenger
Scavenging is both a carnivorous and herbivorous feeding behavior in which individual scavengers search out dead animal and dead plant biomass on which to feed. The eating of carrion from the same species is referred to as cannibalism. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by...
s, 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
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
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
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
.
Species
- Lesser AdjutantLesser AdjutantThe Lesser Adjutant, Leptoptilos javanicus, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is a widespread species which is resident breeder in southern Asia from India east to southern China and Java....
, Leptoptilos javanicus - Greater AdjutantGreater AdjutantThe Greater Adjutant is a member of the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its genus includes the Lesser Adjutant of Asia and the Marabou Stork of Africa...
, Leptoptilos dubius - Marabou StorkMarabou StorkThe Marabou Stork, Leptoptilos crumeniferus, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It breeds in Africa south of the Sahara, occurring in both wet and arid habitats, often near human habitation, especially waste tips...
, Leptoptilos crumeniferus
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
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
:
- Leptoptilos falconeri (Early to Late Pliocene of S Asia and E Africa)
- Leptoptilos indicus (Late Pliocene of Siwalik, India) – formerly Cryptociconia indica, may be the same as L. falconeri (Louchart et al. 2005)
- Leptoptilus 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 robustusLeptoptilos robustusLeptoptilos robustus or Flores Flightless Stork is an extinct species of stork from the Flores island chain in Indonesia. It was tall and weighed an estimated . Since the bones in the legs and body are very heavy, it is assumed that it rarely, if ever, flew.-References:*...
(Pleistocene, Flores, IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
) - Leptoptilos titan (Notopuro Middle/Late Pleistocene of Watualang, Java)
- 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).