Sarcogyps calvus

(Scopoli, 1786) · species

image placeholder — illustration coming later

Animalia/Chordata/Aves/Accipitriformes/Accipitridae/Sarcogyps

At a glance

Occurrence records11 995

Data sources11

Biological traits23

DNA specimens25

eDNA detections1

Sources11 archives

Databases and archives Sarcogyps calvus's data was compiled from.

WikipediaWikimedia Foundation19 languages↗

BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗

GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility11 995 records↗

ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI1 eDNA detections↗

BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics25 specimens↗

Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗

GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗

NCBIUS National Library of Medicinegenome & karyotype↗

WikidataWikimedia Foundationstructured facts↗

IOC World Bird ListIOCbird checklist↗

GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗

On this page6 sections

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

NarrativeWikipediaarticle

Traits & measurements3 literature sources23 traits

Occurrence & distributionGBIF11 995 records

Environmental DNA1 datasets · 1 countries1 detections

DNA & barcodingBOLD25 specimens

Genome at a glanceGoaT · NCBI≈1.3 Gbp

01Narrative

The red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus), also known as the Asian king vulture, Indian black vulture or Pondicherry vulture, is an Old World vulture mainly found in the Indian subcontinent, with small disjunct populations in some parts of Southeast Asia.

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.

02Traits & measurements

SourcesAVONETAmnioteDBEltonTraits

Size & morphology12

Beak depth33.9 mm

Beak length (culmen)68.5 mm

Beak length (nares)46.9 mm

Beak width23 mm

Body mass4 550 g

Hand-wing index44

Kipp's distance253 mm

SVL81 cm

Secondary length322 mm

Tail length229 mm

Tarsus length115 mm

Wing length570 mm

Life cycle & reproduction3

Egg mass205 g

Incubation45 days

Litter size1

Diet & foraging4

Ground100 %

Scavenge100 %

Trophic levelscavenger

Trophic nicheScavenger

Habitat & environment4

HabitatHuman Modified

Migration1.0

Primary lifestyleTerrestrial

Range size2 166 731 km²

05DNA & barcoding25 specimens

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 Sarcogyps calvus has left across the world's sequence archives.

At a glance

DNA specimens25

BINs1

Marker genes1

eDNA detections1

Countries2

Marker genes sequenced

★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.

★COI-5P

animal barcode

06Genome at a glanceGoaT · NCBI

The complete instruction manual Sarcogyps calvus 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.

Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is

Genome size≈1 288 223 488 bp assembly estimate

Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).

BACTERIUM Carsonella ruddii0.00016 Gb

FUNGUS0.04 Gb

INSECT0.25 Gb

THIS GENOME Sarcogyps calvus1.29 Gb

HUMAN3.2 Gb

WHEAT17 Gb

FERN Tmesipteris160.45 Gb

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 = 66 n = 33

Chromosome records66–662n range66median66mode2records

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

2n 662×GoaT · Bird Chromosome Database

GoaT · Bird Chromosome Database — ↗

Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers

Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.

Assembly levelScaffold

08Occurrence & distribution

Record type11 995 records

Wild obs. + sensor11 957

Museum / vouchered35

Other3

Origin

Native1

Range

Area of Occupancy AOO9 224 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 accuracy37% within 1 km

≤100 m 99≤1 km 49>10 km 256

404 georeferenced · 11 553 without coordinates

Open the mapobservation + sensor11 957

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 accuracy0% within 1 km

≤10 km 6>10 km 2

8 georeferenced · 27 without coordinates

Open the institutions mapphysical evidence35

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 institutions7 of 7 geolocated

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

Institution	Specimens
Ann Arbor, US	4
Copenhagen, DK	2
Berkeley, US	2
New Haven, US	1
Cambridge, US	1
Geneva, CH	1
Los Angeles, US	1

7 institutions · 12 of 35 vouchered records shown

09Environmental DNA1 detections

Where the DNA of Sarcogyps calvus was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.

Signal

Detections DNA found1

Studies independent surveys1

Countries1

Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections

Where its DNA was found

0 of 1 detections have coordinates

Open the map1 country0

How strong is each trace?

DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.

Modelled climatemodelled

−15°Ctemperature across detection sites+40°C

Temperature median28.1 °C 28.1–28.1

Seasonal swing summer↔winter4.40 °C

Max temp (day)31.9 °C

Min temp (night)23.6 °C

Precipitation137 mm/mo

Air humidity59.8 %

Moisture balance-8.90 mm/mo

Vapour deficit1,523 Pa

Wind speed2.20 m/s

Cloud cover38.6 %

CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 1 detection point · median with p10–p90 · reflects where sampling happened, not only the true niche

How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.

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The Life Data · species page · narrative wired to read_model image placeholder · 3D tilt requires an http server (WebGL)

Sarcogyps calvus

At a glance

Sources11 archives

Size & morphology12

Life cycle & reproduction3

Diet & foraging4

Habitat & environment4

At a glance

Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is

Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged

Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers

Record type11 995 records

Origin

Range

Wildobservation + sensor

Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence

Wildobservation + sensor

Holding institutions7 of 7 geolocated

Signal

Where its DNA was found

How strong is each trace?

Modelled climatemodelled

Record type11 995 records