Kangaroo Island Emu
Encyclopedia
Kangaroo Island Emu or Dwarf Emu (Dromaius baudinianus) is an extinct member of the bird
family Casuariidae
. It was restricted to Kangaroo Island
, South Australia
, which was known as Ile Decrés by the members of the Baudin expedition. It differed from the mainland Emu
mainly in its smaller size. The species became extinct in approximately 1827.
and reported to be quite common around Nepean Bay. The first bones of the species were discovered in 1903 at The Brecknells, sandhills on the west side of Cape Gantheaume. Initially there was confusion regarding the taxonomic status and geographic origin of the Kangaroo Island Emu, particularly with respect to their relationship to King Island Emu
, which were also transported to France as part of the same expedition. The expeditions logbooks failed to clearly state where and when dwarf emu individuals were collected. This led to both taxa being interpreted as a single taxon and that it originated from Kangaroo Island. More recent finds of sub-fossil material and subsequent studies on King and Kangaroo Island Emu confirm their separate geographic origin and distinct morphology. Due to this confusion, it only received its current scientific name in 1984, after a thorough revision of the extinct emus by Shane A. Parker
. He based it on a sub-fossil specimen from Kangaroo Island
, South Australia
. Specimen SAM B689Ib, a left tarsometatarsus
, is the holotype
.
The species is known only from historical observer accounts and from bones, including sets deposited at the South Australian Museum
. A mounted skin at the Natural History Museum of Geneva
in Switzerland
is sometimes identified as that of a Kangaroo Island Emu, but may instead be a young mainland Emu.
It is believed that this emu lived in the interior forest.
The species' extinction has been attributed to hunting and habitat clearance through burning.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
family Casuariidae
Casuariidae
The bird family Casuariidae has four surviving members: the three species of cassowary, and the only remaining species of Emu. The emus were formerly classified in their own family, Dromaiidae, but are regarded as sufficiently closely related to the cassowaries to be part of the same family.All...
. It was restricted to Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent. Its closest point to the mainland is off Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is long...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, which was known as Ile Decrés by the members of the Baudin expedition. It differed from the mainland Emu
Emu
The Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the largest bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. It is the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. There are three subspecies of Emus in Australia...
mainly in its smaller size. The species became extinct in approximately 1827.
History
It was discovered in 1802 by Matthew FlindersMatthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been...
and reported to be quite common around Nepean Bay. The first bones of the species were discovered in 1903 at The Brecknells, sandhills on the west side of Cape Gantheaume. Initially there was confusion regarding the taxonomic status and geographic origin of the Kangaroo Island Emu, particularly with respect to their relationship to King Island Emu
King Island Emu
The King Island Emu or Black Emu is an extinct sub-species of emu which occurred on King Island between mainland Australia and Tasmania. It is known from 19th century descriptions of live birds, as well as subfossil bones and one museum specimen...
, which were also transported to France as part of the same expedition. The expeditions logbooks failed to clearly state where and when dwarf emu individuals were collected. This led to both taxa being interpreted as a single taxon and that it originated from Kangaroo Island. More recent finds of sub-fossil material and subsequent studies on King and Kangaroo Island Emu confirm their separate geographic origin and distinct morphology. Due to this confusion, it only received its current scientific name in 1984, after a thorough revision of the extinct emus by Shane A. Parker
Shane A. Parker
Shane A. Parker was a British-born museum curator and ornithologist, who emigrated to Australia in 1967 after participating in the second Harold Hall Australian ornithological collecting expedition in 1964...
. He based it on a sub-fossil specimen from Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent. Its closest point to the mainland is off Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is long...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. Specimen SAM B689Ib, a left tarsometatarsus
Tarsometatarsus
The tarsometatarsus is a bone that is found in the lower leg of certain tetrapods, namely birds.It is formed from the fusion of several bones found in other types of animals, and homologous to the mammalian tarsal and metatarsal bones...
, is the holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
.
The species is known only from historical observer accounts and from bones, including sets deposited at the South Australian Museum
South Australian Museum
The South Australian Museum is a museum in Adelaide, South Australia, founded in 1856. It occupies a complex of buildings on North Terrace in the cultural precinct of the Adelaide Parklands.-History:...
. A mounted skin at the Natural History Museum of Geneva
Natural History Museum of Geneva
The Natural History Museum of Geneva is a natural history museum in Geneva, Switzerland....
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
is sometimes identified as that of a Kangaroo Island Emu, but may instead be a young mainland Emu.
It is believed that this emu lived in the interior forest.
The species' extinction has been attributed to hunting and habitat clearance through burning.
External links
- Species profile at the Australian Government's Department of Environment and Heritage website
- Species page at The Extinction Website
Further reading
- Baxter, Chris (1995): An Annotated List of the Birds of Kangaroo Island (revised edition). South Australia National Parks and Wildlife Service. ISBN 0-7308-0677-4
- Garnett, S. (1993): Threatened and extinct birds of Australia. Royal Australasian Ornithologists UnionRoyal Australasian Ornithologists UnionThe Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, also known as Birds Australia, was founded in 1901 to promote the study and conservation of the native bird species of Australia and adjacent regions. This makes it Australia's oldest national birding association. It is also Australia's largest...
- Parker, Shane A. (1984): The extinct Kangaroo Island emu, a hitherto unrecognised species. Bull. Brit. Ornithol. ClubBulletin of the British Ornithologists' ClubThe Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club is an ornithological journal published by the British Ornithologists' Club . It is cited as Bull. B. O. C.Many descriptions of birds new to science have been published in the bulletin....
104: 19-22. - Stattersfield, Alison J.; Crosby, Michael J.; Long, Adrian J. & Wege, David C. (1998) Endemic Bird Areas of the World: Priorities for Biodiversity ConservationEndemic Bird Areas of the World: Priorities for Biodiversity ConservationEndemic Bird Areas of the World: Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation represents an effort to document in detail the endemic biodiversity conservation importance of the world's Endemic Bird Areas....
.