Palaeognathae

Reconstruction of Lithornis, copyright Sheatherius.

Belongs within: Ornithurae.
Contains: Struthio, Apteryx, Aepyornithidae, Casuariiformes, Dinornithiformes, Tinamidae.

The Palaeognathae are a clade of birds found primarily on the southern continents, including the ratites and tinamous. Members of this clade are united by the lack of fusion between the maxillar process of the nasal bone and the maxillary bone, as well as the flat dorsal surface and presence of a pair of furrows on the ventral surface of the mandibular symphysis (Mayr 2009).

Palaeognathae (see below for synonymy)
    |--+--+--Struthio WD17
    |  |  `--Palaeotis Lambrecht 1928 H86, M02 [Palaeotididae M05]
    |  |       `--*P. weigelti Lambrecht 1928 (see below for synonymy) M02
    |  `--+--+--+--Apteryx PB15
    |     |  |  `--Aepyornithidae ML14
    |     |  `--+--Casuariiformes WD17
    |     |     `--+--Dinornithiformes WD17
    |     |        `--Tinamidae WD17
    |     `--Rheidae [Opisthodactylidae, Rheiformes] BKB15
    |          |  i. s.: Opisthodactylus patagonicus Ameghino 1891 AH03
    |          |         Heterorhea dabbeni Rovereto 1914 U93
    |          |--Diogenornis fragilis Alvarenga 1983 ML14, M09
    |          `--+--Pterocnemia pennata L81
    |             `--Rhea Brisson 1760 B94
    |                  |--R. americana JT12
    |                  `--R. pennata JT12
    `--Lithornithidae [Eoaves, Lithornithidae, Lithornithiformes] WD17
         |--Pseudocrypturus Houde 1988 M05
         |    `--P. cercanaxius Houde 1988 M09
         |--Pediorallus Harrison & Walker 1977 M05
         |    `--*P. barbarae Harrison & Walker 1977 M02
         |--Promusophaga Harrison & Walker 1977 M05
         |    `--*P. meini Harrison & Walker 1977 M02
         |--Fissuravis Mayr 2007 M07
         |    `--*F. weigelti Mayr 2007 M07
         `--Lithornis Owen 1840 M05
              |  i. s.: *L. vulturinus Owen 1840 [incl. Promusophaga magnifica Harrison & Walker 1977] M02
              |         L. celetius Houde 1988 M09
              |         L. hookeri (Harrison 1984) [=Pediorallus hookeri] M02
              |         L. nasi (Harrison 1984) M09 [=Pediorallus nasi M02]
              |--L. promiscuus Houde 1988 WD17, M09
              `--+--L. plebius Houde 1988 WD17, M07
                 `--Paracathartes Harrison 1979 WD17, M07
                      `--P. howardae (Harrison 1979) M09

Palaeognathae incertae sedis:
  Remiornis Lemoine 1881 M02 [Remiornithidae M05, Remiornithiformes]
    `--*R. heberti Lemoine 1881 M02
  Eleutherornithidae [Eleutherornithini] U93
    |--Eleutherornis Schaub 1940 M02
    |    `--*E. helveticus Schaub 1940 M02
    `--Proceriavis Harrison & Walker 1979 U93, M02
         `--*P. maritini Harrison & Walker 1979 M02
  Eremopezus Andrews 1904 ML14, RS01 [Eremopezidae, Eremopezithes]
    `--*E. eocaenus Andrews 1904 [incl. Stromeria fajumensis Lambrecht 1929, S. fayumensis] RS01
  Stromeria Lambrecht 1929 U93

Inorganic: Rhea americana minilorientalis Okamura 1987 O87

Palaeognathae [Apteryges, Apterygimorphae, Brevipennes, Palaeognathiformes, Panpalaeognathae, Panratitae, Ratitae, Ratiti, Struthiones, Struthioni, Struthioniformes, Struthionimorphae, Struthionoidea, Timamomorphae]

*Palaeotis weigelti Lambrecht 1928 [incl. Paleogrus geiseltalensis Lambrecht 1935, Ornitocnemus geiseltalensis] M02

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[AH03] Alvarenga, H. M. F., & E. Höfling. 2003. Systematic revision of the Phorusrhacidae (Aves: Ralliformes). Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 43 (4): 55–91.

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[H86] Houde, P. 1986. Ostrich ancestors found in the Northern Hemisphere suggest new hypothesis of ratite origins. Nature 324: 563–565.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[L81] Long, J. L. 1981. Introduced Birds of the World: The worldwide history, distribution and influence of birds introduced to new environments. Reed: Sydney.

[M05] Mayr, G. 2005. The Paleogene fossil record of birds in Europe. Biological Reviews 80: 515–542.

[M07] Mayr, G. 2007. The birds from the Paleocene fissure filling of Walbeck (Germany). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27 (2): 394-408.

[M09] Mayr, G. 2009. Paleogene Fossil Birds. Springer.

[ML14] Mitchell, K. J., B. Llamas, J. Soubrier, N. J. Rawlence, T. H. Worthy, J. Wood, M. S. Y. Lee & A. Cooper. 2014. Ancient DNA reveals elephant birds and kiwi are sister taxa and clarifies ratite bird evolution. Science 344 (6186): 898–900.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.

[O87] Okamura, C. 1987. New facts: Homo and all Vertebrata were born simultaneously in the former Paleozoic in Japan. Original Report of the Okamura Fossil Laboratory 15: 347–573.

[PB15] Prum, R. O., J. S. Berv, A. Dornburg, D. J. Field, J. P. Townsend, E. M. Lemmon & A. R. Lemmon. 2015. A comprehensive phylogeny of birds (Aves) using targeted next-generation DNA sequencing. Nature 526: 569–573.

[RS01] Rasmussen, D. T., E. L. Simons, F. Hertel & A. Judd. 2001. Hindlimb of a giant terrestrial bird from the Upper Eocene, Fayum, Egypt. Palaeontology 44 (2): 325–337.

[U93] Unwin, D. M. 1993. Aves. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 717–737. Chapman & Hall: London.

[WD17] Worthy, T. H., F. J. Degrange, W. D. Handley & M. S. Y. Lee. 2017. The evolution of giant flightless birds and novel phylogenetic relationships for extinct fowl (Aves, Galloanseres). Royal Society Open Science 4: 170975.

Dinornithiformes

Reconstruction of heavy-footed moa Pachyornis elephantopus, copyright Paul Martinson.

Belongs within: Palaeognathae.

The Dinornithiformes, moas, are a group of moderately to extremely large flightless birds known from New Zealand (an historical record of a species from Australia was based on a specimen of mislabelled provenance) that became extinct following human colonisation of the region.

Characters (from Worthy & Holdaway 2002): Skull with small orbits, large olfactory cavities, broad across occipital region. Basitemporal platform with prominent basipterygoid processes. Basiparasphenoidal rostrum long, with triangular expansions extending laterally beneath antorbital plate. Maxilla usually with large dorsal inflation enclosing cavity (maxillary antrum). Beak short, may be pointed or rounded, curved down at tip. 21–23 cervical, six dorsal, 18 sacral, and eleven caudal vertebrae, no pygostyle. Pelvis broad at and posterior to acetabulum. Wing entirely absent, pectoral girdle represented only by vestigial scapulocoracoid bone without glenoid facet. Sternum with well-developed lateral processes. Femur with concave articular surface for antitrochanter on pelvis, tibiotarsus with osseous bridge over tendinal groove, tarsometatarsus with two hypotarsal ridges.

<==Dinornithiformes [Anomalopterygidae, Anomalopteryginae, Dinornithes, Dinornithoidea, Emeidae]
    |--Megalapteryx Haast 1886 BH05, CC10 [incl. Palaeocasuarius Rothschild 1907 CC10]
    |    |--M. didinus (Owen 1883) (see below for synonymy) CC10
    |    `--M. benhami Archey 1941 BKB15, CC10
    `--+--Dinornis Owen 1843 BH05, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
       |    |--*D. novaezealandiae Owen 1843 CC10 (see below for synonymy)
       |    `--D. robustus Owen 1846 (see below for synonymy) CC10
       `--+--Anomalopteryx Reichenbach 1853 ML14, CC10 [=Anomalornis Hutton 1897; incl. Graya Bonaparte 1856]
          |    `--*A. didiformis (Owen 1843) (see below for synonymy) CC10
          `--+--Pachyornis Lydekker 1891 ML14, CC10 [incl. Mauiornis Oliver 1949 WH02, Pounamua Oliver 1949 WH02]
             |    |--P. geranoides (Owen 1848) ML14, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
             |    `--+--*P. elephantopus (Owen 1856) CC10, BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
             |       `--P. australis Oliver 1949 BKB15, CC10
             `--Emeinae CC10
                  |--Emeus Reichenbach 1853 BH05, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                  |    `--*E. crassus (Owen 1846) (see below for synonymy) CC10
                  `--Euryapteryx Haast 1874 (see below for synonymy) CC10
                       |--*E. gravis (Owen 1870) CC10 (see below for synonymy)
                       `--E. curtus (Owen 1846) (see below for synonymy) CC10

*Anomalopteryx didiformis (Owen 1843) [=Dinornis didiformis, *Anomalornis didiformis; incl. Anomalopteryx antiqua Hutton 1893, Anomalopteryx antiquus Hutton 1892, Dinornis dromaeoides Owen 1844, Anomalopteryx dromaeoides, *Graya dromaeoides, D. dromioides Owen 1846, D. (Palapteryx) dromioides, Anomalopteryx fortis Hutton 1893, Anomalornis gracilis Hutton 1897, Dinornis oweni Haast 1886, Anomalornis owenii, Pachyornis owenii, Dinornis parvus Owen 1883, Anomalopteryx parva, Anomalopteryx parvus] CC10

Dinornis Owen 1843 BH05, CC10 [=Megalornis Owen 1843 non Gray 1841 CC10; incl. Moa Reichenbach 1853 CC10, Movia Reichenbach 1853 CC10, Owenia Gray 1855 CC10, Palapteryx Owen 1846 CC10, Tylopteryx Hutton 1891 CC10; Dinornithidae]

*Dinornis novaezealandiae Owen 1843 CC10 [=D. novaezelandiae CC10, *Megalornis novaezealandiae CC10; incl. D. excelsus Hutton 1891 CC10, D. firmus Hutton 1891 CC10, D. gazella Oliver 1949 CC10, D. giganteus Owen 1843 CC10, *Moa gigantea CC10, D. gigas Owen 1846 CC10, D. gracilis Owen 1854 CC10, *Tylopteryx gracilis CC10, D. hercules Oliver 1949 CC10, D. ingens Owen 1844 CC10, *Movia ingens CC10, *Palapteryx ingens CC10, D. struthioides Lydekker 1891 CC10, D. struthoides Owen 1844 CC10, *Owenia struthoides CC10, Tylopteryx struthoides WH02]

Dinornis robustus Owen 1846 [=D. ingens var. robustus, Palapteryx robustus; incl. D. altus Owen 1879, D. maximus Haast 1869, Palapteryx plenus Hutton 1891, D. potens Hutton 1891, D. strenuus Hutton 1893, D. torosus Hutton 1891, D. validus Hutton 1891] CC10

Emeus Reichenbach 1852 BH05, CC10 [incl. Meionornis Haast 1874 CC10, Mesopteryx Hutton 1891 CC10, Syornis Reichenbach 1853 CC10]

*Emeus crassus (Owen 1846) [=Dinornis crassus, Euryapteryx crassa, Eu. crassus, Syornis crassus; incl. Dinornis casuarinus Owen 1846, Anomalopteryx casuarina, Cela casuarinus, Emeus casuarinus, *Meionornis casuarinus, Mesopteryx casuarina, *Syornis casuarinus, Dinornis huttoni Owen 1879, Emeus huttonii, Megalapteryx huttoni, *Mesopteryx huttoni, Dinornis rheides Owen 1870, Cela rheides] CC10

Euryapteryx Haast 1874 [incl. Cela Reichenbach 1853 non Moehring 1758, Celeus Bonaparte 1856 non Boie 1831, Zelornis Oliver 1949] CC10

Euryapteryx curtus (Owen 1846) [=Dinornis curtus, Anomalopteryx curta, A. curtus, *Cela curtus, *Celeus curtus; incl. Euryapteryx exilis Hutton 1897, *Zelornis exilis, E. tane Oliver 1949] CC10

*Euryapteryx gravis (Owen 1870) CC10 [=Dinornis gravis CC10; incl. Emeus boothi Rothschild 1907 CC10, Euryapteryx boothi WH02, Eu. compacta Hutton 1893 CC10, Emeus gravipes Lydekker 1891 CC10, Eu. gravipes CC10, Emeus haasti Rothschild 1907 CC10, Zelornis haasti CC10, Euryapteryx kuranui Oliver 1930 CC10, Emeus parkeri Rothschild 1907 CC10, Euryapteryx pygmaeus Hutton 1891 CC10, Pachyornis pygmaeus CC10]

Megalapteryx didinus (Owen 1883) [=Dinornis didinus, Anomalopteryx didina, Meionornis didinus, Mesopteryx didina, Mes. didinus; incl. Palaeocasuarius elegans Rothschild 1907, *P. haasti Rothschild 1907, Megalapteryx hamiltoni Rothschild 1907, *M. hectori Haast 1886, M. tenuipes Lydekker 1891, Palaeocasuarius velox Rothschild 1907] CC10

*Pachyornis elephantopus (Owen 1856) CC10, BKB15, CC10 [=Dinornis elephantopus CC10, Euryapteryx elephantopus CC10; incl. D. elephantopus var. major Hutton 1875 CC10, Pachyornis immanis Lydekker 1891 CC10, Euryapteryx immanis CC10, Pachyornis inhabilis Hutton 1893 CC10, Dinornis elephantopus var. major Hutton 1875 CC10, Pachyornis (Pounamua) murihiku Oliver 1949 WH02, Euryapteryx ponderosus Hutton 1891 CC10, E. ponderosa CC10, Dinornis queenslandiae De Vis 1884 CC10, Dromiceius queenslandiae CC10, Pachyornis queenslandiae CC10, Pachyornis rothschildi Lydekker 1892 CC10, Pachyornis valgus Hutton 1893 CC10]

Pachyornis geranoides (Owen 1848) ML14, CC10 [=Palapteryx geranoides CC10, Anomalopteryx geranoides CC10, Cela geranoides CC10, Dinornis geranoides CC10, Euryapteryx geranoides CC10, Dinornis expunctus Archey 1927 CC10; incl. Pachyornis mappini Archey 1941 BKB15, CC10, Pac. (Mauiornis) mappini CC10, Pac. (*M.) septentrionalis Oliver 1949 CC10]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[BH05] Baker, A. J., L. J. Huynen, O. Haddrath, C. D. Millar & D. M. Lambert. 2005. Reconstructing the tempo and mode of evolution in an extinct clade of birds with ancient DNA: the giant moas of New Zealand. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 102 (23): 8257–8262.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[ML14] Mitchell, K. J., B. Llamas, J. Soubrier, N. J. Rawlence, T. H. Worthy, J. Wood, M. S. Y. Lee & A. Cooper. 2014. Ancient DNA reveals elephant birds and kiwi are sister taxa and clarifies ratite bird evolution. Science 344 (6186): 898–900.

[WH02] Worthy, T. H., & R. N. Holdaway. 2002. The Lost World of the Moa: Prehistoric life of New Zealand. Indiana University Press: Bloomington (Indiana).

Aepyornithidae

Mounted skeleton of Aepyornis maximus, from Monnier (1913).

Belongs within: Palaeognathae.

The Aepyornithidae, elephantbirds, are a group of large, flightless birds found until relatively recently on Madagascar that included the heaviest birds known to have existed.

<==Aepyornithidae [Aepyornithiformes, Aepyornithoidea]
    |--Mullerornis WH02
    |    |--M. agilis WH02
    |    |--M. betsilei WH02
    |    |--M. grandis WH02
    |    `--M. rudis WH02
    `--Aepyornis Geoffroy St Hilaire 1851 D07
         |--A. gracilis WH02
         |--A. hildebrandti WH02
         |--A. maximus WH02
         |--A. medius WH02
         `--A. titan D07

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[D07] Dixon, D. 2007. The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures. Hermes House: London.

[WH02] Worthy, T. H., & R. N. Holdaway. 2002. The Lost World of the Moa: Prehistoric life of New Zealand. Indiana University Press: Bloomington (Indiana).

Tinamidae

Small-billed tinamou Crypturellus parvirostris, copyright Dario Sanches.

Belongs within: Aves.

The Tinamidae, tinamous, are superficially partridge-like birds found in South America. They are the only living flighted members of the palaeognath clade. Tinamous are small to medium-sized, plump terrestrial birds with short, strong legs and a rudimentary tail (Internet Bird Collection).

<==Tinamidae [Crypturi, Crypturidae, Dromaeomorphae, Pantinamidae, Tinami, Tinamiformes]
    |  i. s.: Nothocercus JT12
    |           |--N. bonapartei JT12
    |           |--N. julius JT12
    |           `--N. nigrocapillus JT12
    |         Taoniscus nanus JT12
    |         Crypturus soui S18
    |           |--C. s. soui S18
    |           `--C. s. modestus S18
    |--+--+--Eudromia Geoffroy St.-Hilaire 1832 JT12, B94 [Eudromiidae]
    |  |  |    |--E. elegans HK08
    |  |  |    `--E. formosa JT12
    |  |  `--Tinamotis Vigors 1837 JT12, B94 [Tinamotidae, Tinamotididae]
    |  |       |--T. ingoufi JT12
    |  |       `--T. pentlandii JT12
    |  `--+--Nothura JT12
    |     |    |--N. boraquira M03
    |     |    |--N. chacoensis JT12
    |     |    |--N. darwinii C04
    |     |    |--N. maculosa ZJM03
    |     |    `--N. minor JT12
    |     `--Nothoprocta JT12
    |          |  i. s.: N. ornata JT12
    |          |         N. pentlandii JT12
    |          |         N. taczanowskii JT12
    |          |--+--N. cinerascens BKB15
    |          |  `--Rhynchotus Spix 1825 BKB15, B94 [Rhynchotidae]
    |          |       |--R. maculicollis JT12
    |          |       `--R. rufescens M03
    |          `--+--N. curvirostris O93
    |             |--N. perdicaria BKB15
    |             |    |--N. p. perdicaria L81
    |             |    `--N. p. sanborni L81
    |             `--‘Tinamus’ tao BKB15
    `--+--Tinamus Hermann 1783 JT12, B94 [incl. Cryptura Illiger 1811 B94]
       |    |--T. castaneiceps S18
       |    |--T. guttatus HK08
       |    |--T. major (Gmelin 1789) [=Tetrao major] C04
       |    |--T. osgoodi JT12
       |    |--T. robustus [=T. major robustus] T62
       |    `--T. solitarius M03
       `--Crypturellus JT12
            |  i. s.: C. atrocapillus JT12
            |         C. bartletti JT12
            |         C. berlepschi JT12
            |         C. boucardi ZJM03
            |         C. brevirostris JT12
            |         C. casiquiare JT12
            |         C. cinereus JT12
            |         C. cinnamomeus M03
            |         C. duidae JT12
            |         C. erythropus JT12
            |         C. kerriae JT12
            |         C. noctivagus C04
            |         C. ptaritepui JT12
            |         C. transfasciatus JT12
            |--C. soui BKB15
            `--+--+--C. strigulosus BKB15
               |  `--C. undulatus BKB15
               `--+--+--C. obsoletus BKB15
                  |  `--C. tataupa JT12
                  `--+--C. parvirostris BKB15
                     `--C. variegatus BKB15

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[C04] Clarke, J. A. 2004. Morphology, phylogenetic taxonomy, and systematics of Ichthyornis and Apatornis (Avialae: Ornithurae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 286: 1–179.

[HK08] Hackett, S. J., R. T. Kimball, S. Reddy, R. C. K. Bowie, E. L. Braun, M. J. Braun, J. L. Chojnowski, W. A. Cox, K.-L. Han, J. Harshman, C. J. Huddleston, B. D. Marks, K. J. Miglia, W. S. Moore, F. H. Sheldon, D. W. Steadman, C. C. Witt & T. Yuri. 2008. A phylogenomic study of birds reveals their evolutionary history. Science 320: 1763–1768.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[L81] Long, J. L. 1981. Introduced Birds of the World: The worldwide history, distribution and influence of birds introduced to new environments. Reed: Sydney.

[M03] Mayr, G. 2003. The phylogenetic affinities of the shoebill (Balaeniceps rex). Journal für Ornithologie 144: 157–175.

[O93] O'Hara, R. J. 1993. Systematic generalization, historical fate, and the species problem. Systematic Biology 42 (3): 231–246.

[S18] Stone, W. 1918. Birds of the Panama Canal Zone, with special reference to a collection made by Mr. Lindsey L. Jewel. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 70: 239–280.

[T62] Tendeiro, J. 1962. Estudos sobre malófagos: Revisão monográfica do género Columbicola Ewing (Ischnocera, Philopteridae). Memórias da Junta de Investigações do Ultramar, ser. 2, 32: 7–460.

[ZJM03] Zeffer, A., L. C. Johansson & Å. Marmebro. 2003. Functional correlation between habitat use and leg morphology in birds (Aves). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 79: 461–484.

Casuariiformes

Emus Dromaius novaehollandiae, photographed by Bill & Mark Bell.

Belongs within: Palaeognathae.

The Casuariiformes are an Australasian clade of large flightless birds including the emus (Dromaius) and cassowaries (Casuarius). The emu Dromaius novaehollandiae is an inhabitant of open habitats in mainland Australia, while the less cursorial cassowaries are found in thick forest in New Guinea and northern Queensland. Cassowaries have mostly black plumage with bare, bright blue head and neck, often with one or two bright, contrastingly coloured wattles hanging from the neck, and a horny casque on the top of the head.

Characters (from here): Large graviportal flightless birds with 3 toes (hind toe lost). Sexes alike in coloration; plumage sombre brown or brownish black, naked blue skin on the head and neck. Plumage loose and hairlike due to the lack of barbules; no differentiated tail feathers. Wings and keel on sternum reduced, legs enlarged. Vestigial clavicles present in shoulder girdle; humerus much reduced, shorter than combined forewing and manus. Manus with a single digit (the third), bearing a long claw. Palate palaeognathous or dromaeognathous, with large vomers extending back to separate short palatines.

<==Casuariiformes [Casuariimorphae]
    |--Casuarius Brisson 1760 (see below for synonymy) B94
    |    |--C. australis Wall in Gould 1865 [incl. C. johnsoni Krefft 1867] N13
    |    |--C. bennettii S66
    |    |--C. bicarunculatus S66
    |    |--C. casuarius HK08
    |    |--C. galeatus N13
    |    |--C. lydekkeri F71 [=C. bennetti lydekkeri FP64]
    |    `--C. uniappendiculatus [incl. C. kaupi Rosenberg 1861] S66
    `--Dromaiidae [Dromaiinae, Dromiceiidae] B94
         |--Metapteryx bifrons WH02
         |--Emuarius U93
         |    |--E. gidju (Patterson & Rich 1987) [=Dromaius gidju] M09
         |    `--E. guljaruba Boles 2001 M09
         `--Dromaius Vieillot 1816 [incl. Dromiceius Vieillot 1816] B94
              |--D. ater FS01
              |--D. baudinianus FS01
              |--‘Dromaeus’ minor A14
              |--D. novaehollandiae (Latham 1790) WS48 (see below for synonymy)
              |    |--D. n. novaehollandiae WS48
              |    |--D. n. rothschildi (Mathews 1912) [=Dromiceius novaehollandiae rothschildi] WS48
              |    `--D. n. woodwardi (Mathews 1912) [=Dromiceius novaehollandiae woodwardi] WS48
              `--D. patricius F71

Casuarius Brisson 1760 [incl. Cela Möhring 1752 (pre-Linnean) non Cela Reichenbach 1852, Hippalectryo Gloger 1842; Casuariidae, Casuariinae, Celidae, Hippalectryonidae] B94

Dromaius novaehollandiae (Latham 1790) WS48 [=Casuarius novaehollandiae WS48, Dromiceius novaehollandiae FP64]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A14] Anderson, W. 1914. Notes on the occurrence of the sand-rock containing bones of extinct species of marsupials (emu, kangaroo, wombat, etc.) on King Island, Bass Strait, Tasmania. Records of the Australian Museum 10 (9): 275–283.

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[FP64] Fisher, J., & R. T. Peterson. 1964. The World of Birds: A comprehensive guide to general ornithology. Macdonald: London.

[FS01] Flannery, T., & P. Schouten. 2001. A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals. Text Publishing: Melbourne.

[F71] Fletcher, H. O. 1971. Catalogue of type specimens of fossils in the Australian Museum, Sydney. Australian Museum Memoir 13: 1–167.

[HK08] Hackett, S. J., R. T. Kimball, S. Reddy, R. C. K. Bowie, E. L. Braun, M. J. Braun, J. L. Chojnowski, W. A. Cox, K.-L. Han, J. Harshman, C. J. Huddleston, B. D. Marks, K. J. Miglia, W. S. Moore, F. H. Sheldon, D. W. Steadman, C. C. Witt & T. Yuri. 2008. A phylogenomic study of birds reveals their evolutionary history. Science 320: 1763–1768.

[M09] Mayr, G. 2009. Paleogene Fossil Birds. Springer.

[N13] North, A. J. 1913. On the early history of the Australian cassowary (Casuarius australis, Wall). Records of the Australian Museum 10 (4): 39–48, pls 8–9.

[S66] Schlegel, H. 1866. Extract from a letter addressed to Mr. P. L. Sclater respecting Casuarius uniappendiculatus. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 168.

[U93] Unwin, D. M. 1993. Aves. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 717–737. Chapman & Hall: London.

[WS48] Whittell, H. M., & D. L. Serventy. 1948. A systematic list of the birds of Western Australia. Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia, Special Publication 1: 1–126.

[WH02] Worthy, T. H., & R. N. Holdaway. 2002. The Lost World of the Moa: Prehistoric life of New Zealand. Indiana University Press: Bloomington (Indiana).

Last updated: 29 August 2019.

Lithornithidae

Reconstruction of Pseudocrypturus by Martin Chavez.

Belongs within: Aves.

The Lithornithidae are a family of chicken- to turkey-sized birds known from the Palaeocene and Lower and Middle Eocene. They had a palaeognathous palatal structure, but are distinguished from other palaeognaths by the presence of a well-developed hallux, and from other palaeognaths except tinamous in retaining the ability to fly. Being thus defined by plesiomorphic characters, lithornithids may be paraphyletic with respect to other palaeognaths (Mayr 2005).

<==Lithornithidae [Eoaves, Lithornithidae, Lithornithiformes]
    |--Paracathartes C04
    |--Pseudocrypturus Houde 1988 M05
    |--Pediorallus Harrison & Walker 1977 M05
    |    `--*P. barbarae Harrison & Walker 1977 M02
    |--Promusophaga Harrison & Walker 1977 M05
    |    `--*P. meini Harrison & Walker 1977 M02
    `--Lithornis Owen 1840 M05
         |--*L. vulturinus Owen 1840 (see below for synonymy) M02
         |--L. celetius C04
         |--L. hookeri (Harrison 1984) [=Pediorallus hookeri] M02
         |--L. plebius C04
         `--L. promiscuus C04

*Lithornis vulturinus Owen 1840 [incl. Promusophaga magnifica Harrison & Walker 1977, Pediorallus nasi Harrison 1984, Lithornis nasi] M02

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[C04] Clarke, J. A. 2004. Morphology, phylogenetic taxonomy, and systematics of Ichthyornis and Apatornis (Avialae: Ornithurae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 286: 1-179.

[M05] Mayr, G. 2005. The Paleogene fossil record of birds in Europe. Biological Reviews 80: 515-542.

[M02] Mlíkovský, J. 2002. Cenozoic Birds of the World. Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press: Praha.