CreatureData

African openbill

Anastomus lamelligerus Temminck, 1823

LCLeast Concernbirds

The African openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) is a species in the family Ciconiidae, order Ciconiiformes. Recorded adults weigh 1 kg to 1.25 kg. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

African openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus)
Photo: ColdCalifornian · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the African openbill

Weight
1 kg – 1.25 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
27.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
3.2 – 3.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the African openbill live?

Not recorded

What is the African openbill?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The African openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) is a species of stork from the family Ciconiidae. It is widely distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa and western regions of Madagascar. This species is considered common to locally abundant across its range, although it has a patchy distribution. Some experts consider there to be two sub-species, A. l. lamelligerus distributed on the continent and A. l. madagascariensis living on the island of Madagascar. Scientists distinguish between the two sub-species due to the more pronounced longitudinal ridges on the bills of adult A. l. madagascariensis. The Asian openbill (Anastomus oscitans) found in Asia is the African openbill's closest relative. The two species share the same notably large bill of a peculiar shape that gives them their name.

From the Wikipedia article “African openbill” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_openbill&oldid=1358813469), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the African openbill endangered?

The African openbill is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the African openbill classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCiconiiformes
  5. familyCiconiidae
  6. genusAnastomus
  7. SpeciesAnastomus lamelligerus Temminck, 1823
Other names and names in other languages (51)
  • AFOPEnglish
  • African open-bill storkEnglish
  • African open-billed storkEnglish
  • African Openbilled storkEnglish
  • Openbill storkEnglish
  • Openbill storkEnglish
  • OopbekooievaarAfrikaans
  • لقلق منفرج المنقار الأفريقيArabic
  • Афрыканскі бусел-разявакаBelarusian
  • Африкански цепкоклюн щъркелBulgarian
  • আফ্রিকান শামুকখোলBangla
  • Beg-digor AfrikaBreton
  • bec de tenalla africàCatalan
  • zejozob africkýCzech
  • ciconia pig agored AffricaWelsh
  • Afrikansk GabenæbDanish
  • GlanzklaffschnabelGerman
  • MohrenklaffschnabelGerman
  • Bekfenda cikonioEsperanto
  • afrika fendobekuloEsperanto
  • Picotenaza africanoSpanish
  • must-irvnokkEstonian
  • afrikanrakonokkaFinnish
  • Bec-ouvert africainFrench
  • Cigogne à bec-ouvert d'AfriqueFrench
  • Gobleathan AfracachIrish
  • פשוק-מקור אפריקניHebrew
  • afrička rodaCroatian
  • afrikai tátogatógólyaHungarian
  • Anastomo africanoItalian
  • クロスキハシコウJapanese
  • afrikinis kiaurasnapis gandrasLithuanian
  • FamakiakoraMalagasy
  • Afrikaanse gaperDutch
  • afrikagapenebbNorwegian
  • kleszczak afrykańskiPolish
  • Bico-abertoPortuguese
  • bico-aberto-africanoPortuguese
  • cegonha-de-bico-aberto-africanaPortuguese
  • Африканский аист-разиняRussian
  • škározobec tmavýSlovak
  • afriški špranjekljunSlovenian
  • Afrička šupljokljuna rodaSerbian
  • Afrikansk gapnäbbstorkSwedish
  • afrikansk gapnäbbsstorkSwedish
  • Kara AçıkgagaTurkish
  • Afrika Aralık Gagalı LeylekgiliTurkish
  • leKolowaneTswana
  • лелека-молюскоїд африканськийUkrainian
  • 非洲鉗嘴鸛Chinese
  • 非洲钳嘴鹳Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the African openbill

Other species in the same genus Anastomus.

CompareAfrican openbill vs Asian openbill

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the African openbill?

An adult African openbill weighs 1 kg – 1.25 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the African openbill endangered?

The African openbill is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the African openbill?

The African openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) belongs to the family Ciconiidae in the order Ciconiiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). African openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-openbill

MLA

“African openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-openbill.

BibTeX
@misc{african_openbill_2026,
  title = {African openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-openbill},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}