Genus of birds
Grus is a
genus of large
birds in the
crane family.
The genus Grus was erected by the French zoologist
Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760.
[1] The name Grus is the Latin word for "crane".
[2] The German ornithologist
Peter Simon Pallas was sometimes credited with erecting the genus in 1766
[3] but the
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature ruled in 1956 that Brisson should have priority.
[4]
The genus formerly included additional species. A
molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that the genus Grus , as then defined, was
polyphyletic .
[5] In the resulting rearrangement to create
monophyletic genera, the
sandhill crane , the
white-naped crane , the
sarus crane and the
brolga were moved to the resurrected genus
Antigone that had been erected by the German naturalist
Ludwig Reichenbach in 1853.
[6]
[7] The
Siberian crane was moved to the resurrected
monotypic genus Leucogeranus .
[6]
Species
The genus contains eight species:
[6]
Genus
Grus –
Brisson , 1760 – 8 species
Common name
Scientific name and subspecies
Range
Size and ecology
IUCN status and estimated population
Wattled crane
G. carunculata
[a] (
Gmelin, J. F. , 1789)
Southern and eastern Africa
Size : Habitat : Diet :
VU
6,000–6,300
[9]
Blue crane
G. paradisea
[b] (
Lichtenstein, A. A. H. , 1793)
Southern Africa
Size : Habitat : Diet :
VU
17,000–30,000
[11]
Demoiselle crane
G. virgo
[c] (
Linnaeus , 1758)
Asia and northwestern Africa
Size : Habitat : Diet :
LC
230,000–261,000
[12]
Red-crowned crane
G. japonensis (
Müller, P. L. S. , 1776)
East Asia and Siberia
Size : Habitat : Diet :
VU
2,000–2,650
[13]
Whooping crane
G. americana (
Linnaeus , 1758)
North America
Size : Habitat : Diet :
EN
50–249
[14]
Common crane
G. grus (
Linnaeus , 1758)
Afro-Eurasia
Size : Habitat : Diet :
LC
491,000–503,000
[15]
Hooded crane
G. monacha
Temminck , 1835
Size : Habitat : Diet :
VU
6,000–15,000
[16]
Black-necked crane
G. nigricollis
Przevalski , 1876
India and China
Size : Habitat : Diet :
NT
6,600–6,800
[17]
The
HBW /
BirdLife and
Clements checklists place the demoiselle crane and blue crane in the genus Anthropoides , and the wattled crane in the monospecific genus Bugeranus , leaving only the red-crowned, whooping, common, hooded, and black-necked cranes in the genus Grus .
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
The
Cuban flightless crane ,
Grus cubensis , became extinct in the
Pleistocene .
[22]
Fossil record
The
fossil record of the genus stretches back some 12 million years or so. A considerable number of prehistoric species are known, with the oldest, Grus miocaenicus (
Middle Miocene of
Credinţa ,
Romania ) perhaps not a crane but a
junior synonym of the swimming-flamingo
Palaelodus ambiguus ; ("Grus" problematica certainly is). The
Late Pleistocene
Mediterranean Grus primigenia was hunted by
Stone Age humans.
Grus afghana (Late Miocene of Molayan, Afghanistan) - doubtfully distinct from G. penteleci
Grus sp. 1 (Late Miocene of Love Bone Bed, USA)
Grus sp. 2 (Late Miocene of Love Bone Bed, USA)
Grus cf. antigone (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, USA)
Grus nannodes (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene -? Edson Middle Pliocene of Sherman County, USA)
Grus sp. (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, USA)
Grus haydeni (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene - Pleistocene? of WC USA) - 2 species, one may be same as G. canadensis
Grus penteleci (Late Miocene - Early Pliocene of C and SE Europe) - formerly in
Pliogrus
Grus sp. (Late Pliocene of Puebla de Valverde, Spain)
Grus bogatshevi (Late Pleistocene of Azerbaijan) - doubtfully distinct form G. primigenia
Grus latipes (Shore Hills Late Pleistocene of Bermuda, W Atlantic) - formerly Baeopteryx
Maltese crane
Grus melitensis (Late Pleistocene of Malta) - doubtfully distinct from G. primigenia
Grus pagei (Late Pleistocene of Rancho La Brea)
Grus primigenia (Late Pleistocene? of SW Europe)
Grus cubensis (Pleistocene and Holocene of Cuba)
Several other fossil gruiforms are now considered not to belong here. "Grus" prentici is now in
Paragrus , "Grus" princeps , "Grus" excelsa and "Grus" hordwellianus are placed in
Palaeogrus , and "Grus" excelsa in
Balearica . "Grus" marshi belongs in
Aletornis .
More uncertain is the position of
Probalearica (variously considered Late Oligocene to Middle Pliocene but probably Late Miocene) from
Golboçica (
Moldavia ) and maybe elsewhere. It is usually regarded a
nomen dubium but might belong into Grus . "Grus" conferta (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Contra Costa County, USA) is apparently too different from the modern genus to be placed herein, but its affiliations are not well resolved.
Notes
^ The wattled crane is placed in the genus Bugeranus by the IUCN and Clements Checklist.
[8]
^ The blue crane is placed in the genus Anthropoides by the IUCN and Clements Checklist.
[10]
[8]
^ The Demoiselle crane is placed in the genus Anthropoides by the IUCN and Clements Checklist.
[10]
[8]
References
^
Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760).
Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés (in French and Latin). Vol. 5. Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. pp. 374–375.
^ Jobling, James A. (2010).
The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . London: Christopher Helm. p.
179 .
ISBN
978-1-4081-2501-4 .
^
Peters, James Lee , ed. (1934).
Check-list of Birds of the World . Vol. 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 150.
^ Hemming, Francis, ed. (1956).
"Direction 55: Insertion in the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology of an entry relating to the generic name Grus Brisson, 1760 (Class Aves) (correction of an error in the Ruling given in Opinion 103)" . Opinions and Declarations Rendered by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature . Vol. 1 Section D Part D.16. London: International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature. pp. 319–336.
^ Krajewski, C.; Sipiorski, J.T.; Anderson, F.E. (2010).
"Mitochondrial genome sequences and the phylogeny of cranes (Gruiformes: Gruidae)" . Auk . 127 (2): 440–452.
doi :
10.1525/auk.2009.09045 .
S2CID
85412892 .
^
a
b
c
Gill, Frank ; Donsker, David, eds. (2019).
"Flufftails, finfoots, rails, trumpeters, cranes, limpkin" . World Bird List Version 9.2 . International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 26 June 2019 .
^
Reichenbach, Ludwig (1853).
Handbuch der speciellen Ornithologie (in German). Leipzig: Friedrich Hofmeister. p. xxiii.
^
a
b
c
Clements, James F. ; Rasmussen, P. C.; Schulenberg, T. S.; Iliff, M. J.; Fredericks, T. A.; Gerbracht, J. A.; Lepage, Denis; Billerman, S. M.; Sullivan, B. L.; Wood, C. L. (2023).
"The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023" . Clements Checklist .
Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2023 .
^
BirdLife International (2018).
"Bugeranus carunculatus " .
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018 : e.T22692129A129880815.
doi :
10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22692129A129880815.en . Retrieved 20 February 2022 .
^
a
b
c
"Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7" . HBW and BirdLife International. 2022.
Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2023 .
^
BirdLife International (2021).
"Anthropoides paradiseus " .
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021 : e.T22692109A177514877.
doi :
10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22692109A177514877.en . Retrieved 20 February 2022 .
^
BirdLife International (2018).
"Anthropoides virgo " .
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018 : e.T22692081A131927771.
doi :
10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22692081A131927771.en . Retrieved 14 February 2022 .
^
BirdLife International (2022).
"Grus japonensis " .
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021 : e.T22692167A213488064. Retrieved 31 August 2023 .
^
BirdLife International (2020).
"Grus americana " .
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 : e.T22692156A181242855.
doi :
10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22692156A181242855.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021 .
^
BirdLife International (2016).
"Grus grus " .
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016 : e.T22692146A86219168.
doi :
10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22692146A86219168.en . Retrieved 19 February 2022 .
^
BirdLife International (2016).
"Grus monacha " .
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016 : e.T22692151A93337861.
doi :
10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22692151A93337861.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021 .
^
BirdLife International (2020).
"Grus nigricollis " .
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 : e.T22692162A180030167.
doi :
10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22692162A180030167.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021 .
^ Archibald, G.W.; Meine, C.D.; Garcia, E.F.J.; Kirwan, G.M. (2017). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.).
"Demoiselle Crane (Anthropoides virgo )" . Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive . Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 12 November 2017 .
^ Archibald, G.W.; Meine, C.D.; Garcia, E.F.J. (2017). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.).
"Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus )" . Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive . Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 12 November 2017 .
^ Archibald, G.W.; Meine, C.D.; Garcia, E.F.J. (2017). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.).
"Wattled Crane (Bugeranus carunculatus )" . Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive . Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 12 November 2017 .
^ Clements, J.F.; Schulenberg, T.S.; Iliff, M.J.; Roberson, D.; Fredericks, T.A.; Sullivan, B.L.; Wood, C.L. (2017).
"The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017" . Retrieved 12 November 2017 .
^
Olson, Storrs L. (1978).
"A paleontological perspective of West Indian birds and mammals" (PDF) . In
Gill, Frank (ed.). Zoogeography in the Caribbean: The 1975 Leidy Medal Symposium . Special Publication 13. Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. pp. 99–117 [106].
ISBN
1422317854 .
Balearicinae (crowned cranes)
Gruinae (typical cranes)