NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Rüppell's Vulture
Gyps rueppelli (A. E. Brehm, 1852)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Rüppell's vulture (Gyps rueppelli), also called Rüppell's griffon vulture or Rüppell's griffon, a species of vulture named after Eduard Rüppell, is a large, resident bird of prey, mainly native to the Sahel region and East Africa. It is considered to be the highest-flying bird, with confirmed evidence of a flight at an altitude of 11,300 m (37,000 ft), where the average temperature is about −56 °C (−69 °F). The former population of 22,000 individuals has been decreasing due to loss of habitat, incidental poisoning, and other factors. It is therefore listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Wikipedia contributors, Rüppell's vulture; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:36:09.458963+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gyps rueppelli (A. E. Brehm, 1852)
- Name authority
- (A. E. Brehm, 1852)
- Common name
- Rüppell's Vulture
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Gyps
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae Vigors, 1824
- genusGyps Savigny, 1809
- speciesGyps rueppelli (A. E. Brehm, 1852)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Gyps. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| White-backed VultureGyps africanus Salvadori, 1865 | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Griffon VultureGyps fulvus (Hablizl, 1783) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Himalayan VultureGyps himalayensis Hume, 1869 | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Slender-billed VultureGyps tenuirostris G. R. Gray, 1844 | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Indian VultureGyps indicus (Scopoli, 1786) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cape VultureGyps coprotheres (J. R. Forster, 1798) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Vultur rueppelli A. E. Brehm, 1852 A. E. Brehm, 1852 | synonym |
| Gyps rueppellii (A. E. Brehm, 1852) (A. E. Brehm, 1852) | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1253605 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3HXNF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.