Casuariidae

Casuariidae
	Cassowary ( Casuarius casuarius )
Systematics
Superclass :	Jaw mouths (Gnathostomata)
Row :	Land vertebrates (Tetrapoda)
Class :	Birds (aves)
Subclass :	Great Pine Birds (Palaeognathae)
Order :	Casuariiformes
Family :	Casuariidae
Scientific name of the order
	Casuariiformes
	Sclater , 1880
Scientific name of the family
	Casuariidae
	Kaup , 1847

emu

The Casuariidae are a family of ratites found in Australia and New Guinea , which consists of four recent species, the emu and the three cassowary species.

features

All four species of the Casuariidae have an oval, horizontally aligned, heavy trunk and long, relatively thick legs with three forward-facing toes on the feet (Tridactyly). The inner toe of the cassowaries is equipped with a long, dagger-like claw. Cassowaries are black with relatively stiff feathers, emus are gray-brown with soft feathers. The fletching in the cassowaries looks almost like hair, in the emu it is mop-like and shaggy. The head is small, the neck long. The head and neck of the emus are covered with short, bristle feathers, the head of the cassowary is featherless, and in two of the three species also the neck. In these two, the blue-red colored skin and drooping skin flaps are visible.

Habitat and way of life

The emu lives in arid areas from steppes to open forests, and feeds on leaves, fruits, seeds and roots of various plants, as well as insects and other invertebrates. The cassowary species occur in more humid biotopes from tree savannas to the tropical rainforest and mainly eat fruits that have fallen to the ground, as well as insects and other invertebrates. Both genera are monogamous to polyandric . The females mate and lay their eggs in the nest of one or more males. The nests are built by the males before mating and consist of a depression in the ground that is padded with leaves and grass. A clutch consists of 5 to 15 eggs in the emu, and 3 to 5 eggs in the cassowaries. The male incubates the eggs over a period of seven to eight weeks and guides the young, protects them from predators and shows them food for up to nine months. Young emus and cassowaries become sexually mature between one and two years of age.

Genera and species

Subfamily Casuariinae
- Cassowaries ( Casuarius )
  - Bennett's Cassowary ( C. bennetti )
  - Cassowary ( C. casuarius )
  - Cassowary ( C. unappendiculatus )
Subfamily Dromaiinae
- Emus ( dromaius )
  - Great emu ( D. novaehollandiae )

Systematics

The Casuariidae family was introduced in 1847 by the German zoologist Johann Jakob Kaup . For a long time it was only valid for the cassowaries ( Casuarius ), while the emus ( Dromaius ) were in most cases classified in a separate family, the Dromaiidae, which was established in 1908 by the American ornithologist Charles Wallace Richmond . In modern systematics, however, both cassowaries and emus are assigned to the Casuariidae. The close relationship between emus and cassowaries has long been undisputed and has been confirmed in several publications. The closest relatives of the Casuariidae are the New Zealand kiwi fruit (Apterygidae) and the extinct Malagasy elephant birds (Aepyornithidae).

swell

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d David W. Winkler, Shawn M. Billerman, Irby J. Lovette: Bird Families of the World: A Guide to the Spectacular Diversity of Birds. Lynx Edicions (2015), ISBN 978-8494189203 . Page 40 and 41.
^ IOC World Bird List: Ratites: Ostriches to Tinamous
^ Family Dromaiidae entry at HBW Alive
^ Family Casuariidae entry at HBW Alive
↑ Charles gald Sibley & Ahlquist Jon Edward (1990): Phylogeny and classification of birds. Yale University Press, New Haven, Conn.
↑ Livezey, BC and RL Zusi (2007): Higher-order phylogeny of modern birds (Theropoda, Aves: Neornithes) based on comparative anatomy. II. Analysis and discussion, Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 149, 1-95.
↑ Hackett et al .: A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History . Science 27 June 2008: Vol. 320. no. 5884, pp. 1763–1768 DOI: 10.1126 / science.1157704
^ Phillips MJ, Gibb GC, Crimp EA, Penny D (January 2010). Tinamous and moa flock together: mitochondrial genome sequence analysis reveals independent losses of flight among ratites . Systematic Biology. 59 (1): 90-107. doi: 10.1093 / sysbio / syp079
↑ Mitchell, Llamas, Soubrier, Rawlence, Worthy, Wood, Lee & Cooper. 2014. Ancient DNA reveals Elephant Birds and Kiwi are Sister Taxa and Clarifies Ratite Bird Evolution. Science . 344: 898-900. DOI: 10.1126 / science.1251981 .

[Winkler-1] David W. Winkler, Shawn M. Billerman, Irby J. Lovette: Bird Families of the World: A Guide to the Spectacular Diversity of Birds. Lynx Edicions (2015), ISBN 978-8494189203 . Page 40 and 41.

[2] IOC World Bird List: Ratites: Ostriches to Tinamous

[3] Family Dromaiidae entry at HBW Alive

[4] Family Casuariidae entry at HBW Alive

[5] Charles gald Sibley & Ahlquist Jon Edward (1990): Phylogeny and classification of birds. Yale University Press, New Haven, Conn.

[6] Livezey, BC and RL Zusi (2007): Higher-order phylogeny of modern birds (Theropoda, Aves: Neornithes) based on comparative anatomy. II. Analysis and discussion, Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 149, 1-95.

[7] Hackett et al .: A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History . Science 27 June 2008: Vol. 320. no. 5884, pp. 1763–1768 DOI: 10.1126 / science.1157704

[8] Phillips MJ, Gibb GC, Crimp EA, Penny D (January 2010). Tinamous and moa flock together: mitochondrial genome sequence analysis reveals independent losses of flight among ratites . Systematic Biology. 59 (1): 90-107. doi: 10.1093 / sysbio / syp079

[9] Mitchell, Llamas, Soubrier, Rawlence, Worthy, Wood, Lee & Cooper. 2014. Ancient DNA reveals Elephant Birds and Kiwi are Sister Taxa and Clarifies Ratite Bird Evolution. Science . 344: 898-900. DOI: 10.1126 / science.1251981 .