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Ratites (/ ˈ r æ t aɪ t s /) are a polyphyletic group consisting of all birds within the infraclass Palaeognathae that lack keels and cannot fly. [3] They are mostly large, long-necked, and long-legged, the exception being the kiwi , which is also the only nocturnal extant ratite.
This is a list of ratites. Codes used in Status columns in tables below. Extinct (EX) – No known living individuals;
Ratites are a category of (mostly) large flightless birds of the order Struthioniformes. Subcategories. This category has the following 10 subcategories, out of 10 ...
Ratites, all of which are flightless, lack a strong keel. Thus, living birds were divided into carinatae (keeled) and ratites (from ratis , "raft", referring to the flatness of the sternum). The difficulty with this scheme phylogenetically was that some flightless birds, without strong keels, are descended directly from ordinary flying birds ...
Ostriches are of the genus Struthio in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, cassowaries, kiwis and the extinct elephant birds and moas.
Incongruences between ratite phylogeny and Gondwana geological history indicate the presence of ratites in their current locations is the result of a secondary invasion by flying birds. [14] It remains possible that the most recent common ancestor of ratites was flightless and the tinamou regained the ability to fly. [15]
Unlike other ratites, it lives exclusively in tropical rainforest, and reproducing this habitat carefully is essential. Unlike the emu, which will live with other sympatric species, such as kangaroos , in "mixed Australian fauna" displays, the cassowary does not cohabit well among its own kind.
They are distantly related to the African ostriches and Australia's emu (the largest and second-largest living ratites, respectively), with rheas placing just behind the emu in height and overall size. Most taxonomic authorities recognize two extant species: the greater or American rhea (Rhea americana), and the lesser or Darwin's rhea (Rhea ...