Casuarius lydekkeri is an extinct species of cassowary.
| Casuarius lydekkeri Temporal range: Pliocene-Pleistocene
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Infraclass: | Palaeognathae |
| Order: | Casuariiformes |
| Family: | Casuariidae |
| Genus: | Casuarius |
| Species: | C. lydekkeri
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| Binomial name | |
| Casuarius lydekkeri Rothschild, 1911
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Description
editRemains attributed to the species are generally around the size of the living dwarf cassowary (Casuarius bennetti). Remains attributed to C. lydekkeri differ from living cassowaries in a number of morphological characters, including "a shallower, narrower pelvis, more gracile femur and a narrower proximal [closer to hip] end to the tarsometatarsus".[1]
Taxonomy
editThe species was originally described by Walter Rothschild based on a partial right tibiotarsus of probable Pleistocene age.[2][3] The exact provenance is unknown, and was originally reported as coming from cave deposits near Wellington in New South Wales,[4] though this is now considered unlikely.[5] It has alternatively been proposed that it may originate from the Darling Downs in Queensland based on its preservation.[3][5] Other remains attributed to C. lydekkeri have been reported from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of Australia and New Guinea,[1] including a skeleton from bog deposits near Pureni the central highlands of Papua New Guinea, dating to the Late Pleistocene.[6] The taxonomy of the species has been described as "problematic", and it has been said that there "is no indication of close affinity between these fossil forms [attributed to C. lydekkeri] and living cassowaries", and it has been suggested that all living cassowaries are more closely related to each other than to forms attributed to C. lydekkeri.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c Naish, Darren; Perron, Richard (18 May 2016). "Structure and function of the cassowary's casque and its implications for cassowary history, biology and evolution". Historical Biology. 28 (4): 507–518. doi:10.1080/08912963.2014.985669. ISSN 0891-2963.
- ^ Rothschild, Walter (1911). Schalow, Herman (ed.). On the former and present distribution of the so-called Ratitae or ostrich-like birds and a description of a new form by C. W. Andrews. Verhandlungen des V. Internationaler Ornithologen-Kongresses, in Berlin 30. Mai bis 4. Juni 1910 (PDF). Deutsche Ornithologische Gesellschaft. pp. 144–169.
- ^ a b Widrig, Klara; Field, Daniel J. (February 2022). "The Evolution and Fossil Record of Palaeognathous Birds (Neornithes: Palaeognathae)". Diversity. 14 (2): 105. doi:10.3390/d14020105. ISSN 1424-2818.
- ^ Miller, Alden H. (19 June 1962). "The history and significance of the fossil Casuarius lydekkeri". Records of the Australian Museum. 25 (10): 235–238. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1975.25.1962.662. ISSN 0067-1975.
- ^ a b Worthy, Trevor H.; Nguyen, Jacqueline M. T. (2 January 2020). "An annotated checklist of the fossil birds of Australia". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. 144 (1): 66–108. doi:10.1080/03721426.2020.1756560. ISSN 0372-1426.
- ^ Rich, P.V.; Plane, Michael & Schroeder, Natalie (1988). "A pygmy cassowary (Casuarius lydekkeri) from late Pleistocene bog deposits at Pureni, Papua New Guinea" (PDF). BMR Journal of Australian Geology and Geophysics. 10 (4): 377–389.
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