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1. No keel on sternum or breast bone
2. Palaeognathous palate (Rigid palate and jaw)
3. A break in the postnasal strut
4. The structure of the rhamphotheca

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Behavioral:
1. Diurnal except for the nocturnal kiwi
2. Lay eggs in nests
Habitat:
1. Can survive in nearly any conditions
2. Known to live in extremely low and extremely high temperatures

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1. Dwarf Cassowary
2. Okarito Kiwi
3. Masai Ostrich
All three species are flightless birds that are common in forests and are territorial. All are herbivores.

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Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Casuariiformes
Family: Casuariidae
Genus: Casuarius
Species: casuarius bennetti

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Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apterygiformes
Family: Apterygidae
Genus: Aperyx
Species: rowi

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Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Struthioniformes
Family: Struthionidae
Genus: Struthio
Species: camelus massaicus

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Taxonomy as Evidence of Common Ancestry 

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Taxonomy as Evidence of Common Ancestry 

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Taxonomy alone displays information about the relatedness of these three different species; all three species belong to the same kingdom, phylum, and class.

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1. S. asiaticus

Late Pilocene

2. S. linxiaesis

Miocene

3. S. karatheodoris

Middle Turolian

4. S. Camelus

Early middle Turolian

5. Palaeotis weigelti

Middle Eocene

6. Remiornis heberti

Late Palaeocene

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Rheas and Ostriches: Large wings, kidney-bean shaped spleen, long ceca
Emus and Cassowaries: Small wings, short ceca, similar proventriculi

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DNA extracted from fossilized ostrich eggshells found in India show a high degree of similarity with the DNA of struthio Camelus. It is 92% similar to this species, and other species to which the extracted DNA is similar are shown in the phylogenetic tree below.

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Evidence of Evolution #4: Chromosomal Analysis

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Evidence of Evolution #4: Chromosomal Analysis

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Organisms within the order struthioniformes contain Z and W chromosomes that are similar in size and undifferentiated. They also have avian karyotypes, meaning they have a high diploid number of chromosomes (74-86).

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Four Pieces of Evidence to support Evolution

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Four Pieces of Evidence to support Evolution

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The four pieces of evidence support the theory of evolution because they show similarities between the anatomy and genetic makeup of organisms of different groups within the order struthioniformes. This proves that the different organisms within the order struthioniformes, such as the ostrich, kiwi, and cassowary, share a common ancestor.

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The formation of species within the order struthioniformes is an example of punctuated equilibrium. This is clear because the taxonomic group experienced little to no change in its number of species for a long period of time until the continental drifting of Gondwanaland. This continental drift resulted in a sudden, rapid increase in the number of species within the order struthioniformes.

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Struthioniformes evolve through divergent evolution. This is because differences between groups within the order arise and cause the formation of new species. This divergent evolution is a result of the continental drifting of Gondwanaland, which prompted the diffusion of different groups of the order struthioniformes to different and isolated regions and further blocked gene flow between those groups.

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Geographic isolation was an evolutionary mechanism for the order struthioniformes. It occurred when Gondwanaland experienced a continental drift, causing rheas and emus to migrate to South America and Australia, where they were geographically isolated from ostriches and elephant birds, which remained on Indo-Madagascar.

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Adaptive radiation was an evolutionary mechanism for struthioniformes. This is because different groups within the order struthioniformes adapted into forms that filled ecological niches in their environments. For example, the ostrich evolved into an organism with long legs that help it outrun predators, and short, heavy toes and heavy leg bones that give the ostrich stability.

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As shown in the phylogenetic tree in "Evidence of Evolution #3: DNA/RNA," the kiwi, rhea, moa, emu, and ostrich share common DNA. However, the fact that they have different characteristics shows that decent with modification occurred within the taxonomic group.

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Struthioniformes underwent directional selection because natural selection favored organisms within the taxonomic group that were adapted for speed. For example, the average length of the legs of the ostrich increased over time because natural selection favored ostriches with longer legs as an advantage towards agility.

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Info:

http://www.nhptv.org/wild/struthioniformes.asp

https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/about-kiwi/kiwi-species/

http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/cassowary

https://australianmuseum.net.au/emu

https://www.britannica.com/animal/rhea-bird-group

https://birdeden.com/types-of-ostriches

https://www.accessscience.com/content/struthioniformes/662900

http://animals.jrank.org/pages/350/Tinamous-Ratites-Struthioniformes-BEHAVIOR-REPRODUCTION.html

https://struthionifunfacts.weebly.com/blog/habitat

https://www.arkive.org/dwarf-cassowary/casuarius-bennetti/

http://animals.jrank.org/pages/363/Cassowaries-Casuaridae-BEHAVIOR-REPRODUCTION.html

http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/okarito-brown-kiwi

http://www.nature-photo.com/masai-ostrich-fact-sheet-13.html

http://www.wildlife-of-africa.com/birds/masai-ostrich.htm#.Ww6nbminHrc

http://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/sites/default/files/articles/pdf/g2009n3a1.pdf

http://www.ivpp.ac.cn/qt/papers/201206/P020120601588435820636.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Ratite-specimens-from-the-Palaeogene-of-Europe-A-Skeleton-of-Palaeotis-weigelti-from_fig4_285787109

www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/biology/chapter6section3.rhtml

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/zoo.1430030205

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0164823

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.832.4534&rep=rep1&type=pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24618361

https://books.google.com/books?id=uiv4CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA375&lpg=PA375&dq=adaptive+radiation+struthioniformes&source=bl&ots=HC8HpI8RFw&sig=KVPb4j61afz9mFpyLKxCaPu1Ca4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiho_OhmrjbAhUGE3wKHYIKAxsQ6AEIajAN#v=onepage&q=adaptive%20radiation%20struthioniformes&f=false

Graphics:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_ostrich

https://www.hbw.com/ibc/species/dwarf-cassowary-casuarius-bennetti

http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/okarito-brown-kiwi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masai_ostrich

https://www.exploringnature.org/db/view/Rhea

http://tweetboard.me/anatomy-of-emu-bird/