Editing California condor (section)

==Taxonomy==
[[File:The Naturalist's Miscellany Vol 9 Pl 301 California condor.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.75|[[Frederick Polydore Nodder]]'s illustration accompanying [[George Shaw (biologist)|George Shaw]]'s 1797 [[species description]]]]
The California condor was described by English naturalist [[George Shaw (biologist)|George Shaw]] in 1797 as ''Vultur californianus''; [[Archibald Menzies]] collected the [[type specimen]] "from the coast of California" during the [[Vancouver expedition]].<ref name="Shaw, 1797" /> It was originally classified in the same genus as the [[Andean condor]] (''V. gryphus''), but, due to the Andean condor's slightly different markings, slightly longer wings, and tendency to kill small animals to eat,<ref>Nielsen 2006, p. 27</ref> the California condor has been placed in its own [[monotypic taxon|monotypic genus]]. The generic name ''Gymnogyps'' is derived from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] ''gymnos''/γυμνος "naked" or "bare", and ''gyps''/γυψ "vulture",<ref name="Liddell 1980">{{cite book|author=Liddell, Henry George|author-link=Henry George Liddell|author2=Robert Scott|author2-link=Robert Scott (philologist)|name-list-style=amp|year = 1980|title = A Greek-English Lexicon|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location = United Kingdom|isbn = 978-0-19-910207-5|title-link=A Greek-English Lexicon|edition=Abridged}}</ref> while the specific name ''californianus'' comes from its location in California. The word condor itself is derived from the [[Quechua languages|Quechua]] word ''kuntur''.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia| title=Raven|encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary|editor1=Simpson, J. |editor2=Weiner, E. | year=1989 |edition= 2nd| location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn= 978-0-19-861186-8}}</ref>

[[File:Calif condor skull.jpg|thumb|right|A California condor skull]]
The exact [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomic]] placement of the California condor and the other six species of [[New World vulture]]s remains unclear.<ref name="SACC"/> Though similar in appearance and [[Ecological niche|ecological roles]] to [[Old World vulture]]s, the New World vultures evolved from a different ancestor in a different part of the world. Just how different the two are is under debate, with some earlier authorities suggesting that the New World vultures are more closely related to [[stork]]s.<ref>[[Charles Sibley|Sibley, Charles G.]] and Monroe, Burt L. 1990. ''[https://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0300049692 Distribution and Taxonomy of the Birds of the World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717204631/https://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0300049692 |date=July 17, 2021 }}''. Yale University Press. {{ISBN|0-300-04969-2}}. Accessed April 11, 2007.</ref> More recent authorities maintain their overall position in the order [[Falconiformes]] along with the Old World vultures<ref>[[Charles Sibley|Sibley, Charles G.]], and [[Jon Edward Ahlquist|Ahlquist, Jon E.]] 1991. ''[https://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0300040857 Phylogeny and Classification of Birds: A Study in Molecular Evolution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013180806/https://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0300040857 |date=October 13, 2020 }}''. Yale University Press. {{ISBN|0-300-04085-7}}. Accessed April 11, 2007.</ref> or place them in their own order, Cathartiformes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ericson |first1=Per G. P. |last2=Anderson |first2=Cajsa L. |last3=Britton |first3=Tom |last4=Elzanowski |first4=Andrzej |last5=Johansson |first5=Ulf S. |last6=Kallersjö |first6=Mari |last7=Ohlson |first7=Jan I. |last8=Parsons |first8=Thomas J. |last9=Zuccon |first9=Dario |last10=Mayr |first10=Gerald |year=2006 |title=Diversification of Neoaves: integration of molecular sequence data and fossils |url=http://www.systbot.uu.se/staff/c_anderson/pdf/neoaves.pdf |journal=[[Biology Letters]] |volume=2 |issue= 4|pages=1–5 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2006.0523 |pmid=17148284 |pmc=1834003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061108091145/http://www.systbot.uu.se/staff/c_anderson/pdf/neoaves.pdf |archive-date=November 8, 2006 }} [http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/roybiolett/suppl/2009/03/30/2.4.543.DC1/rsbl20060523supp1.pdf Electronic Supplementary Material] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806142853/http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/roybiolett/suppl/2009/03/30/2.4.543.DC1/rsbl20060523supp1.pdf |date=August 6, 2017 }} (PDF)</ref> The [[South American Classification Committee]] has removed the New World vultures from [[Ciconiiformes]] and instead placed them in ''[[Incertae sedis]]'', but notes that a move to Falconiformes or Cathartiformes is possible.<ref name="SACC">Remsen, J. V. Jr.; C. D. Cadena; A. Jaramillo; M. Nores; J. F. Pacheco; M. B. Robbins; T. S. Schulenberg; F. G. Stiles; D. F. Stotz & K. J. Zimmer. 2007. [http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.html ''A Classification of the Bird Species of South America'']. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302073659/http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.html |date=March 2, 2009 }} South American Classification Committee. Retrieved on October 15, 2007</ref>

As of the 51st Supplement (2010) of the American Ornithologists' Union, the California condor is in the family [[Cathartidae]] of the order [[Cathartiformes]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://checklist.aou.org/taxa/ |title=AOS Checklist of North and Middle American Birds<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=April 1, 2017 |archive-date=December 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121207020051/http://checklist.aou.org/taxa |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Evolutionary history===
[[File:Gymnogyps amplus skeleton.jpg|thumb|left|Fossil of the extinct species ''[[Gymnogyps amplus]]'' from the [[La Brea Tar Pits]]]]
The [[genus]] ''Gymnogyps'' is an example of a [[Relict (biology)|relict]] distribution. During the [[Pleistocene]] Epoch, this genus was widespread across the [[Americas]]. From fossils, the Floridian ''Gymnogyps kofordi'' from the [[Early Pleistocene]] and the Peruvian ''[[Gymnogyps howardae]]'' from the [[Late Pleistocene]] have been described.<ref name="CornellBNA">{{cite web|title = The Birds of North America Online: California Condor|year = 2003|publisher = Cornell Lab of Ornithology|url = http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/California_Condor/SYSTEMATICS.html|access-date = August 22, 2007|archive-date = June 18, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200618055418/https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/home|url-status = live}}</ref> A condor found in Late Pleistocene deposits on [[Cuba]] was initially described as ''Antillovultur varonai'', but has since been recognized as another member of ''Gymnogyps'', ''[[Gymnogyps varonai]]''. It may even have derived from a founder population of California condors.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Suárez |first1=W. |last2=Emslie |first2=S.D. |year=2003 |title=New fossil material with a redescription of the extinct condor ''Gymnogyps varonai'' (Arredondo, 1971) from the Quaternary of Cuba (Aves: Vulturidae) |journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington |volume=116 |issue=1 |pages=29–37 |url=http://people.uncw.edu/emslies/documents/SuarezandEmslie2003.pdf |access-date=November 10, 2014 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126122532/http://people.uncw.edu/emslies/documents/SuarezandEmslie2003.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The California condor is the sole surviving member of ''Gymnogyps'' and has no accepted subspecies. However, there is a Late Pleistocene form that is sometimes regarded as a [[Chronospecies|palaeosubspecies]], ''Gymnogyps californianus amplus''. Opinions are mixed, regarding the classification of the form as either a chronospecies or a separate species, ''Gymnogyps amplus''.<ref name=Syverson_1>{{cite journal| author=V.J. Syverson| date=2007| title=Evolutionary Patterns in Pleistocene to Recent California Condors| journal=Geological Society of America| volume=39| number=6| url=https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007AM/finalprogram/abstract_132562.htm| access-date=August 28, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225632/https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007AM/finalprogram/abstract_132562.htm| archive-date=March 3, 2016| url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Gymnogyps amplus'' occurred over much of the bird's historical range – even extending into Florida – but was larger, having about the same weight as the [[Andean condor]]. This bird also had a wider bill.<ref name=c1/> As the climate changed during the last [[ice age]], the entire population became smaller until it had evolved into the ''Gymnogyps californianus'' of today,<ref>{{cite journal|author=Howard, Hildegarde|year=1947|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v049n01/p0010-p0013.pdf|title=A preliminary survey of trends in avian evolution from Pleistocene to recent time|journal=[[Condor (journal)|Condor]]|volume=49|issue=1|pages=10–13|doi=10.2307/1364422|jstor=1364422|access-date=February 22, 2013|archive-date=September 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925171043/https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v049n01/p0010-p0013.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Howard, Hildegarde|year=1962|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v064n03/p0241-p0242.pdf|title=Bird Remains from a Prehistoric Cave Deposit in Grant County, New Mexico|journal=[[Condor (journal)|Condor]]|volume=64|issue=3|pages=241–242|jstor=1365205|doi=10.2307/1365205|access-date=February 22, 2013|archive-date=July 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714133412/http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v064n03/p0241-p0242.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> although more recent studies by Syverson question that theory.<ref name=Syverson_1/>