The "walking eagle" Wetmoregyps daggetti Miller---a scaled-up version of the Savanna Hawk Buteogallus meridionalis

—The so-called "walking eagle," currently known as Wetmoregyps daggetti from the Pleistocene of southern California and northern Mexico, is practically identical in morphology and proportion to the living Savanna Hawk (Buteogallus meridionalis) but -40% larger. It should therefore be known as Buteogallus daggetti, new combination. Its habits were perhaps like those of a Savanna Hawk in that it was capable of taking much larger prey, given that the weight of B. daggetti may have exceeded that of the modern Secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius), and it may have occupied a similar niche. Any connection between its extinction and the disappearance of the North American mammalian megafauna is dubious at best. Received 27 November 2006, accepted 5 February 2007. RESUMEN. — Wetmoregyps daggetti, encontrado en el Pleistoceno en el sur de California y norte de Mexico, es practicamente identico en morfologia y en proporciones al gavilan pita venado Buteogallus meridionalis, aunque un 40% mas grande. Por lo tanto, debe considerarse como Buteogallus daggetti. Probablemente, sus habitos eran muy similares a los del gavilan pita venado, siendo capaz de capturar grandes presas. Su tamano excede al del secretario (Sagittarius serpentarius), pudiendo ocupar un nicho similar. Cualquier conexion entre la extincion de Wetmoregyps daggetti y la desaparicion de la megafauna de mamiferos en Norte America es, cuando menos, dudosa IN THE COURSE of investigating the relation"eagles. " Each of these instances will be treated ships of several species of large fossil raptors separately, beginning here with the fossil spefrom Cuba with William Suarez, I borrowed cies now known as Wetmoregyps daggetti. skeletons of the two living species of "eagles" of That species was described originally by the genus Harpyhaliaeetus, which are extremely Miller (1915) as Morphnus daggetti, on the basis rare in collections. Taking the opportunity to of a very long, slender tarsometatarsus that study their relationships in turn, we collaboMiller regarded as having belonged to a "walkrated with Stephen Parry and also included in ing eagle. " Three additional tarsometatarsi and our comparisons some of the large species of an incomplete tibiotarsus were assigned to the Accipitridae described from the Pleistocene of species a few years later (Miller 1925). Miller Rancho La Brea, California. We eventually real(1928, 1931) identified fragmentary tarsometaized that we could identify a previously unrectarsi from the Carpinteria asphalt deposits as ognized radiation of raptors, all of which could this species. In re-evaluating its affinities, he be accommodated in the genus Buteogallus. had "no hesitation in placing the Pleistocene Three of the living species of Buteogallus, all bird nearer to Urubitinga [= Buteogallus] than to differing in skeletal proportions, appeared to Morphnus," while noting the "strong superficial have nearly identical counterparts, either living resemblance of the Daggett Eagle to.weaker fossil, that were scaled up more than 30-40% footed and small-mouthed raptors," such as in size, so that they have been regarded as B. urubitinga or Caracara spp. (Miller 1928:255). Nevertheless, probably influenced by its great ^E-mail: olsons@si.edu size, he created for it a new genus, Wetmoregyps, though the allusion to vultures in the name