Casuariidae

The bird family Casuariidae has three surviving members: the three species of cassowary.

Casuariidae
Southern cassowary
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Casuariiformes
Family: Casuariidae
Kaup, 1847[1]
Genera
Diversity
2-3 genera, 6-7 species

All living members of the family are very large flightless birds native to Australia-New Guinea,[2] though the extinct potential member Hypselornis was native to India.[3] The characteristics of the family are those of its members.

Species
  • ?† Hypselornis Lydekker, 1929 (Pliocene)
    • † Hypselornis sivalensis Lydekker, 1929
  • † Emuarius Boles, 1992 (emuwaries) (Late Oligocene – Late Miocene)
    • † E. gidju (Patterson & Rich 1987) Boles, 1992
    • † E. guljaruba Boles, 2001
  • Casuarius Brisson, 1760 (cassowary)
    • † C. lydekkeri Rothschild, 1911 (Pygmy cassowary)
    • C. casuarius (Linnaeus, 1758) (Southern cassowary)
    • C. unappendiculatus Blyth, 1860 (Northern cassowary)
    • C. bennetti Gould, 1857 (Dwarf Cassowary)
      • C. b. westermanni (Sclater, 1874) (Papuan dwarf cassowary)
      • C. b. bennetti Gould, 1857 (Bennett's cassowary)
  • Dromaius Vieillot, 1816 (emu)
    • D. novaehollandiae (Latham, 1790) (Emu)
    • † D. n. diemenensis Le Souef, 1907 (Tasmanian emu)
    • † D. n. minor Spencer, 1906 (King Island emu)
    • † D. n. baudinianus Parker, SA, 1984 (Kangaroo Island emu)

Systematics and evolution

The fossil record of casuariforms is interesting, but not very extensive.

Some Australian fossils initially believed to be from emus were recognized to represent a distinct genus, Emuarius,[4] which had a cassowary-like skull and femur and an emu-like lower leg and foot.

A Pliocene Indian ratite, Hypselornis, has been classified as a casuariid based on its similarities to modern cassowaries and emus. However, no recent studies have been performed on these remains.

Footnotes
  1. Brand, S. (2008)
  2. Clements, J (2007)
  3. Lowe, Percy Roycroft 1929. Some remarks on Hypselornis sivalensis Lydekker. Ibis. 71: (4) 571–576. (Journal Article)
  4. From "Emu" + "Casuarius". Describer W. E. Boles commonly refers to the genus as "emuwaries" or "cassomus".

References
  • Boles, Walter E. (2001): A new emu (Dromaiinae) from the Late Oligocene Etadunna Formation. Emu 101: 317–321. HTML abstract
  • Brands, Sheila (14 August 2008). "Systema Naturae 2000 / Classification, Family Casuariidae". Project: The Taxonomicon. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  • Clements, James (2007). The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World (6 ed.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-4501-9.
  • Folch, A. (1992). Family Casuariidae (Cassowaries). pp. 90– 97 in; del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol 1, Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN 84-87334-09-1
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