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Casuarius lydekkeri Temporal range: Pliocene-Pleistocene
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Infraclass:	Palaeognathae
Order:	Casuariiformes
Family:	Casuariidae
Genus:	Casuarius
Species:	C. lydekkeri
Binomial name
Casuarius lydekkeri Rothschild, 1911

Casuarius lydekkeri is an extinct species of cassowary.

Description

Remains 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 end to the tarsometatarsus".

Taxonomy

The species was originally described by Walter Rothschild based on a partial right tibiotarsus of probable Pleistocene age. The exact provenance is unknown, and was originally reported as coming from cave deposits near Wellington in New South Wales, though this is now considered unlikely. It has alternatively been proposed that it may originate from the Darling Downs in Queensland based on its preservation. Other remains attributed to C. lydekkeri have been reported from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of Australia and New Guinea, including a skeleton from bog deposits near Pureni the central highlands of Papua New Guinea, dating to the Late Pleistocene. 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 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.

References

1. ^ 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.
2. 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.
3. ^ 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.
4. 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.
5. ^ 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.
6. 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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• Casuarius
• Extinct birds of Australia
• Pleistocene birds
• Flightless birds
• Fossil taxa described in 1911
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