be the immediate ancestor of G. eremita, which would have originated at the western extent of its range. Some authors even include the Bulgarian population in G. eremita, but most are more cautious. G. balcanicus may also represent a lineage related but not ancestral to the northern bald ibis, which inhabited the inland regions northeastwards of the European Alpides and – like the immediate ancestor of G. eremita in this scenario – was isolated from the ancestors of G. calvus when gene flow across tropical Africa ceased. Footnotes References Boev, Zlatozar (1998): Presence of Bald Ibises (Geronticus Wagler, 1832) (Threskiornithidae - Aves) in the Late Pliocene of Bulgaria. Geologica Balcanica 28 (1–2): 45–52. Boev, Zlatozar (2002):Additional Material of Geronticus balcanicus Boev, 1998, and Precision of the Age of the Type Locality. Acta Zoologica Bulgarica 52 (2): 53–58 [English with Bulgarian abstract]. full text Brookes, Ian (ed.) (2006): The Chambers Dictionary (9th ed.). Chambers, Edinburgh. |del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew & Sargatal, Jordi (eds.) (1992): Handbook of Birds of the World (Vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002): Cenozoic Birds of the World (Part 1: Europe). Ninox Press, Prague. PDF fulltext Sinclair, Ian; Hockey, Phil & Tarboton, Warwick R. (2002): SASOL Birds of Southern Africa. Struik, Cape Town Snow, David W. & Perrins, Christopher M. (eds.) (1998): The Birds of the Western Palearctic (concise ed.). Oxford University Press. External links Geronticus, Systema Naturae 2000 Navigate: Taxon Index, Genus Level, G Bald Ibis by Adam Riley, Focusing on Wildlife Bird genera Serravallian first appearances Extant Miocene first appearances