Animalia > Chordata > Aves > Casuariiformes > Dromaiidae > Dromaius > Dromaius novaehollandiae

Dromaius novaehollandiae (Emu)

Synonyms:

Wikipedia Abstract

The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the second-largest living bird by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. The emu's range covers most of mainland Australia, but the Tasmanian emu and King Island emu subspecies became extinct after the European settlement of Australia in 1788. The bird is sufficiently common for it to be rated as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
View Wikipedia Record: Dromaius novaehollandiae

Infraspecies

Dromaius novaehollandiae baudinianus (Kangaroo Island Emu) (Extinct)
Dromaius novaehollandiae diemenensis (Tasmanian emu (extinct))
Dromaius novaehollandiae minor (King Island Emu) (Extinct)
Dromaius novaehollandiae novaehollandiae (Emu)

EDGE Analysis

Uniqueness Scale: Similiar (0) 
14
 Unique (100)
Uniqueness & Vulnerability Scale: Similiar & Secure (0) 
41
 Unique & Vulnerable (100)
ED Score: 28.6773
EDGE Score: 3.39038
Learn more at EDGE of Existence programme

Attributes

Adult Weight [1]  76.031 lbs (34.487 kg)
Birth Weight [2]  1.281 lbs (581.2 g)
Female Weight [5]  81.351 lbs (36.90 kg)
Male Weight [5]  69.446 lbs (31.50 kg)
Weight Dimorphism [5]  17.1 %
Diet [3]  Carnivore (Invertebrates), Frugivore, Granivore, Herbivore
Diet - Fruit [3]  30 %
Diet - Invertibrates [3]  20 %
Diet - Plants [3]  20 %
Diet - Seeds [3]  30 %
Forages - Understory [3]  80 %
Forages - Ground [3]  20 %
Clutch Size [6]  9
Clutches / Year [1]  1
Egg Length [1]  5 inches (130 mm)
Egg Width [1]  3.543 inches (90 mm)
Incubation [4]  50 days
Mating Display [2]  Ground display
Mating System [2]  Polyandry
Maximum Longevity [7]  17 years
Female Maturity [4]  1 year 6 months
Male Maturity [4]  1 year 6 months

Protected Areas

Ecosystems

Emblem of

Australia

Prey / Diet

Prey / Diet Overlap

Predators

Aquila audax (Wedge-tailed Eagle)[4]
Canis lupus dingo (domestic dog)[8]

Consumers

Parasitized by 
Dahlemhornia asymmetrica[10]
Dromaeostrongylus bicuspis <Unverified Name>[10]
Trichostrongylus tenuis[10]

Range Map

External References

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Nathan P. Myhrvold, Elita Baldridge, Benjamin Chan, Dhileep Sivam, Daniel L. Freeman, and S. K. Morgan Ernest. 2015. An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96:3109
♦ 2Terje Lislevand, Jordi Figuerola, and Tamás Székely. 2007. Avian body sizes in relation to fecundity, mating system, display behavior, and resource sharing. Ecology 88:1605
♦ 3Hamish Wilman, Jonathan Belmaker, Jennifer Simpson, Carolina de la Rosa, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, and Walter Jetz. 2014. EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95:2027
♦ 4Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 01, 2010 at animaldiversity.org
♦ 5Davies, SJJF (2002) Ratites and Tinamous: Tinamidae, Rheidae, Dromaiidae, Casuariidae, Apterygidae, Struthionidae (Bird Families of the World). Oxford University Press, Oxford
♦ 6Jetz W, Sekercioglu CH, Böhning-Gaese K (2008) The Worldwide Variation in Avian Clutch Size across Species and Space PLoS Biol 6(12): e303. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060303
♦ 7de Magalhaes, J. P., and Costa, J. (2009) A database of vertebrate longevity records and their relation to other life-history traits. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22(8):1770-1774
♦ 8Who's Eating Who
♦ 9Dunstan, H., Florentine, S. K., Calviño-Cancela, M., Westbrooke, M. E., & Palmer, G. C. (2013). Dietary characteristics of Emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) in semi-arid New South Wales, Australia, and dispersal and germination of ingested seeds. Emu, 113(2), 168-176.
♦ 10Species Interactions of Australia Database, Atlas of Living Australia, Version ala-csv-2012-11-19
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0