Editing California condor (section)

===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/>