Geronticus Temporal range: Middle Miocene to recent
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Nesting southern bald ibis (G. calvus) with young. | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Pelecaniformes |
Family: | Threskiornithidae |
Subfamily: | Threskiornithinae |
Genus: | Geronticus Wagler, 1832 |
Type species | |
Tantalus calvus[1] Boddaert, 1783
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Species | |
Geronticus calvus |
The small bird genus Geronticus belongs to the ibis subfamily Threskiornithinae. Its name is derived from the Greek gérontos (γέρωντος, "old man")[2] in reference to the bald head of these dark-plumaged birds; in English, they are called bald ibises.
The genus was erected by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832.[3] The type species was subsequently designated as the southern bald ibis (Geronticus calvus).[4][5]