Dromaius

Emu ( Dromaius novaehollandiae )

The Emus ( Dromaiidae, Dromaius ) are a family and genus flightless ratites ( Struthioniformes ) from Australia. They include not only the well-known Great Emu two since the mid-19th century extinct species which occurred on King and Kangaroo Iceland Iceland off the coast of South Australia.

Features

Emus are large birds that are 1.6 to 1.9 meters tall and weigh between 30 and 45 kilograms. Head and neck are feathered sparse. The facial skin is black and blue, the throat pouch is inflatable. Basically, Emus live rather solitary, especially males with pups show an aggressive behavior. The breeding season falls in the Australian winter. Clutch size ranges from five to fifteen eggs. These are placed with an interval of laying two to four days.

System

The closest relatives of emus are the cassowaries, with which they are sometimes united in a single suborder Casuarii. Emus form a family with only one genus, which are associated with the recent and the two extinct species:

• † Black Emu (D. ater), King Iceland
• † Kangaroo Island Emu (D. baudinianus ), Kangaroo Iceland
• Emu (D. novaehollandiae ), Australia

The Tasmanian Emu, which is also extinct, on the other hand was probably not a distinct species, but merely a subspecies of the Great emus.