Casuarius fossil map
Where fossils of Casuarius have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 5 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 5 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Prehistoric birds |
|---|---|
| Lived | 3.6–2.58 million years ago (Piacenzian) |
| Periods | Neogene |
| Family | Casuariidae |
| Named by | Brisson 1760 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Papua New Guinea |
| Rock formations | Otibanda |
About Casuarius
Cassowaries (Indonesian: kasuari; Biak: man suar 'bird strong'; Tok Pisin: muruk) are flightless birds of the genus Casuarius, in the order Casuariiformes. They are classified as ratites, flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bones. Cassowaries are native to the tropical forests of New Guinea (Western New Guinea and Papua New Guinea), the Moluccas (Seram and Aru Islands), and northeastern Australia.
Three cassowary species are extant. The most common, the southern cassowary, is the fourth-tallest and third-heaviest living bird, smaller only than the two species of ostrich and the emu. The other two species of cassowary are the northern cassowary and the dwarf cassowary; the northern cassowary is the most recently discovered and the most threatened. A fourth, extinct, species is the pygmy cassowary.
Cassowaries are very wary of humans, but if provoked, they are capable of inflicting serious, even fatal, injuries. They are known to attack both dogs and humans. The cassowary has often been labelled "the world's most dangerous bird", although in terms of recorded statistics, it pales in comparison to the common ostrich, which kills two to three humans per year in South Africa.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Cassowary (revision 1379732876), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q201231.
