Ardea goliath

Cretzschmar, 1829 · species

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Animalia/Chordata/Aves/Pelecaniformes/Ardeidae/Ardea

At a glance

Occurrence records76 456

Data sources10

Biological traits36

DNA specimens0

eDNA detections0

Sources10 archives

Databases and archives Ardea goliath's data was compiled from.

WikipediaWikimedia Foundation13 languages↗

BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗

GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility76 438 records↗

OBISOcean Biodiversity Information System18 records↗

Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗

GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗

Paleobiology DatabasePBDB consortiumfossil record↗

WikidataWikimedia Foundationstructured facts↗

IOC World Bird ListIOCbird checklist↗

GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗

On this page4 sections

Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.

NarrativeWikipediaarticle

Traits & measurements5 literature sources36 traits

Occurrence & distributionGBIF · OBIS76 456 records

Genome at a glanceGoaT2n = 68

01Narrative

Ardea goliath egg The Goliath heron (Ardea goliath), also known as the giant heron, is a very large wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa, with smaller, declining numbers in Southwest and South Asia.

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.

02Traits & measurements

SourcesAmnioteDBAnAgeAVONETEltonTraitsSeaLifeBase

Size & morphology14

Beak depth35.3 mm

Beak length (culmen)199 mm

Beak length (nares)160 mm

Beak width22.8 mm

Body mass4 468 g

Body mass (female)2 600 g

Body mass (male)4 328 g

Hand-wing index32.5

Kipp's distance184 mm

SVL140 cm

Secondary length384 mm

Tail length229 mm

Tarsus length237 mm

Wing length570 mm

Life cycle & reproduction6

Egg mass109 g

Fledging age45.5 days

Incubation28.5 days

Litter size3

Litters per year1 /year

Max. longevity275 months

Diet & foraging7

Fish60 %

Ground50 %

Invertebrate20 %

Trophic levelcarnivore

Trophic nicheAquatic predator

Vertebrate ectotherm20 %

Water around surface50 %

Habitat & environment8

HabitatWetland

Habitat brackishyes

Habitat freshwateryes

Habitat saltwateryes

Habitat zoneothers

Migration1.0

Primary lifestyleTerrestrial

Range size17 833 051 km²

Other traits1

Interbirth interval365 days

05DNA & barcodingmolecular

A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Ardea goliath has left across the world's sequence archives.

At a glance

06Genome at a glanceGoaT

The complete instruction manual Ardea goliath carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.

Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged

2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.

Chromosomes2n = 68 n = 34

Chromosome records68–682n range68median68mode2records

Chromosome-count records — grouped by value · 2n = full set, n = gamete · click a value for sources & references

2n 682×GoaT · Bird Chromosome Database

GoaT · Bird Chromosome Database — ↗

08Occurrence & distribution

Record type76 456 records

Wild obs. + sensor76 288

Museum / vouchered42

Cultivated / captive3

Other123

Origin

Native5

Range

Area of Occupancy AOO35 444 km²

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

Coordinate accuracy84% within 1 km

≤100 m 2 640≤1 km 1 047≤10 km 397>10 km 301

4 385 georeferenced · 71 903 without coordinates

Open the mapobservation + sensor76 288

Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence

Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.

Coordinate accuracy62% within 1 km

≤1 km 13≤10 km 5>10 km 3

21 georeferenced · 21 without coordinates

Open the institutions mapphysical evidence42

Cultivated / Captivenot free-living

A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.

Coordinate accuracy100% within 1 km

≤100 m 3

3 georeferenced

Open the mapnot free-living3

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

10Collections & institutions

Holding institutions11 of 14 geolocated

Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.

Institution	Specimens
MRAClocation not on record	9
Washington, US	5
Cambridge, US	3
Geneva, CH	3
Toronto, CA	3
Brussels, BE	3
Copenhagen, DK	3
New Haven, US	2
RBINS-Scientific Heritagelocation not on record	2
South Kensington, GB	2
CPMMlocation not on record	1
Seattle, US	1
Frankfurt am Main	1
Chicago, US	1

14 institutions · 39 of 42 vouchered records shown

Cultivated / Captivenot free-living

A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.

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Ardea goliath

At a glance

Sources10 archives

Size & morphology14

Life cycle & reproduction6

Diet & foraging7

Habitat & environment8

Other traits1

At a glance

Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged

Record type76 456 records

Origin

Range

Wildobservation + sensor

Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence

Cultivated / Captivenot free-living

Wildobservation + sensor

Holding institutions11 of 14 geolocated

Cultivated / Captivenot free-living

Record type76 456 records