Struthio

Struthio Temporal range: Pliocene–Present PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N Pliocene to Recent
Ostrich, male and female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Aves
Subclass:	Neornithes
Superorder:	Paleognathae
Order:	Struthioniformes
Family:	Struthionidae (Vigors, 1825)
Genus:	Struthio Linnaeus, 1758
Species
†Struthio coppensi †Struthio linxiaensis †Struthio orlovi †Struthio wimani †Struthio brachydactylus †Struthio asiaticus Asian ostrich †Struthio dmanisensis †Struthio oldawayi Struthio camelus Common Ostrich Struthio molybdophanes Somali Ostrich
Diversity
10 Species, 5 possible species

Struthio is a genus of bird in the order Struthioniformes.

Species

There are ten known species from this genus, of which eight are extinct. There are five more possible species of which trace fossils have been found. They are:

• †Struthio coppensi (Early Miocene of Elizabethfeld, Namibia)
• †Struthio linxiaensis (Liushu Late Miocene of Yangwapuzijifang, China)
• †Struthio orlovi (Late Miocene of Moldavia)
• †Struthio karingarabensis (Late Miocene - Early Pliocene of SW and CE Africa) - oospecies(?)
• †Struthio kakesiensis (Laetolil Early Pliocene of Laetoli, Tanzania) - oospecies
• †Struthio wimani (Early Pliocene of China and Mongolia)
• †Struthio daberasensis (Early - Middle Pliocene of Namibia) - oospecies
• †Struthio brachydactylus (Pliocene of Ukraine)
• †Struthio chersonensis (Pliocene of SE Europe to WC Asia) - oospecies
• †Struthio asiaticus, Asian Ostrich (Early Pliocene - Late Pleistocene of Central Asia to China ?and Morocco)
• †Struthio dmanisensis, Giant Ostrich (Late Pliocene/Early Pleistocene of Dmanisi, Georgia)
• †Struthio oldawayi (Early Pleistocene of Tanzania) - probably subspecies of S. camelus
• †Struthio anderssoni - oospecies(?)
• Struthio camelus, Common Ostrich
• Struthio molybdophanes, Somali Ostrich

Fossil records and egg shell fragments show that the ancestors of this genus originated about 40-58 million years ago (mya) in the Asiatic steppes as small flightless birds. By about 12 mya they had evolved into the larger size of which we are familiar. By this time they had spread to Mongolia and, later, South Africa.

Evolution

The genus Struthio used to include the Emu, Rhea, and also the Cassowary, until they each were placed in their own genera.

References

• Davies, S.J.J.F. (2003). "Ostriches". In Hutchins, Michael. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. 8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins (2 ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. p. 99. ISBN 0 7876 5784 0. 
• Gray, George Robert (1855) (PDF) Catalogue of the Genera and Subgenera of Birds contained in the British Museum Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London, UK: Taylor and Francis p. 109 http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/57406#8