Gyps

Gyps is a genus of Old World vultures that was proposed by Marie Jules César Savigny in 1809. Its members are sometimes known as griffon vultures. Gyps vultures have a slim head, a long slender neck with downy feathers, and a ruff around the neck formed by long buoyant feathers. The crown of their big beaks is a little compressed, and their big dark nostrils are set transverse to the beak. They have six or seven wing feathers, of which the first is the shortest and the fourth the longest.

Taxonomy

The genus Gyps was introduced in 1809 by the French zoologist Marie Jules César Savigny to accommodate the Eurasian griffon vulture.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The genus name is from Ancient Greek gups meaning "vulture".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The genus contains eight extant species.<ref name=ioc>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Image	Name	Distribution and IUCN Red List status
File:PikiWiki Israel 38863 Wildlife and Plants of Israel.JPG	Eurasian griffon vulture G. fulvus (Hablitz, 1783)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>	File:Gyps fulvus distribution map.png Template:IUCN status<ref>Template:Cite iucn</ref>
File:Gyps bengalensis PLoS.png	White-rumped vulture G. bengalensis (Gmelin, 1788)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	India and Nepal, Pakistan Template:IUCN status<ref>Template:Cite iucn</ref>
File:Cape Vulture - Giant Castle - South-Africa 010002 (15444476446).jpg	Cape vulture G. coprotheres (Forster, 1798)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	Southern Africa Template:IUCN status<ref>Template:Cite iucn</ref>
File:Vulture and Jackal eating together.jpg	Indian vulture G. indicus (Scopoli, 1786)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	Pakistan, India and Nepal Template:IUCN status<ref>Template:Cite iucn</ref>
File:Slender-billed Vulture, Mishmi Hills, India.jpg	Slender-billed vulture G. tenuirostris Gray, 1844<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	India Template:IUCN status<ref>Template:Cite iucn</ref>
File:Rüppell's Vulture (Gyps rueppelli) (21160089681).jpg	Rüppell's vulture G. rueppelli (Brehm, 1852)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>	Sahel and East Africa Template:IUCN status<ref>Template:Cite iucn</ref>
File:White-backed Vulture Chobe.jpg	White-backed vulture G. africanus Salvadori, 1865<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>	West and center, East, Southern Africa Template:IUCN status<ref>Template:Cite iucn</ref>
File:Himalayan Griffon - Bhutan S4E0109 (15464421711).jpg	Himalayan vulture G. himalayensis Hume, 1869<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	File:GypsHimalayensisMap.svg Template:IUCN status<ref>Template:Cite iucn</ref>

Two fossil species have been described:

• † Maltese vulture G. melitensis Lydekker, 1890<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> – Fossil remains were found in Middle to Late Pleistocene sites all over the central and eastern Mediterranean.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• † G. bochenskii Boev, 2010 – Fossil remains were found near Varshets in northwestern Bulgaria that were dated to the Late Pliocene.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>