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http://animaldiversity.org/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/05/140513-flightless-birds-ostriches-moas-evolution-science/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
https://evobites.com/2014/10/25/grayson_birdphylogeny/comment-page-1/
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/344/6186/898

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https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Yaen001.jpg/800px-Yaen001.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Emu-wild.jpg/1024px-Emu-wild.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/TeTuatahianui.jpg/800px-TeTuatahianui.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Palaeotis_weigelti.jpg/1920px-Palaeotis_weigelti.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Ornithomimus_edmontonicus.jpg/800px-Ornithomimus_edmontonicus.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Aepyornis_maximus.jpg/220px-Ae

Pyornis_maximus.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Br%C3%A9chet.png/220px-Br%C3%A9chet.png

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/files/2014/05/ratite-cladogram-Mitchell-et-al-2014-new-370-px-tiny-Mar-2014-Darren-Naish-Tetrapod-Zoolog.jpg

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500 years old - Holocene

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Historically it was believed that all Struthioniformes evolved to be flightless simultaneously, however new findings suggest that flightlessness evolved three separate times within the order. Another part of this discovery includes the tinamous, a bird previously excluded from struthioniformes, which is now believed to have coevolved with them. As a result of these new discoveries, Struthioniformes have been reclassified into smaller groups, with the Struthioniformes now only including ostriches. New orders include Rheidae, which includes Rheas,  and the order Casuariiformes, which includes cassowaries and emus.

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It has been speculated by many scientists that struthioniformes originated in the ancient supercontinent known as Gondwanaland. following the separation of the supercontinent, new species of struthioniformes formed as a result of the new geographic isolation

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During the early 20th century, emus in Australia were considered pests by many farmers. As a result, the Australian government began the mass extermination of emus. Later, bounties placed on emus resulted in the death of over 57,000 emus. This event may have caused traits which allowed emus to survive hunting by humans to become more frequent in emu populations.

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Flightless

Lack a keel

Primarily diurnal

Omnivorous

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Struthioniformes display divergent evolution, in which one ancestral species diverges into modern species.

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Struthioniformes display punctuated equilibrium—defined by long periods of little evolution and short periods of rapid evolution.

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56 million years old - Eocene

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1000 years old - Holocene

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56 million years old

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120 million years old - Cretaceous

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200 million years old - Triassic

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By comparing the amino acid sequence of lysozyme in ostriches to other birds, a phylogenetic tree was created to visualize the differences between the species.

https://goo.gl/vkZh0B

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The phylogenetic tree pictured below was created by analyzing the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA of birds. All of these birds are flightless except the tinamiformes, which were found to be part of this group based on the DNA analysis.

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All members of the order Struthioniformes lack a keel, which is part of the sternum, that is found in most birds. This is evidence that all Struthioniformes share a common ancestor that diverged from birds with keels.

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All fossils belonging to the order Struthioniformes share physical characteristics, such as the lack of a keel unlike those of other members of the class Aves.

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Evidence of Evolution within Struthioniformes

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Evidence of Evolution within Struthioniformes

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Through the taxonomic classification of the exemplary members of the order Struthioniformes, and as all members are flightless, it has been concluded that all members of the order shared a common ancestor, and that all of the species within the order diverged from that ancestor.

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

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Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Struthioniformes
Family: Dromaiidae
Genus: Dromaius
Species: Novaehollandiae

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Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Struthioniformes
Family: Apterygidae
Genus: Apteryx
Species: Australis

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Habitat

New Zealand

Forests, Grasslands

Physical Characteristics

Size comparable to that of a chicken

Poor vision

Long pointed beak

Behavioral characteristics

Nocturnal

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Habitat

Australia

Savannah Woodland

Physical characteristics

1.9m tall, >36kg

Can run at a sustained speed of 30mph

Behavioral Characteristics

Solitary

Diurnal

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Habitat

Central & Southern Africa

Savanna, Grassland, Scrub Forest

Physical characteristics

Large Size (2m tall, >90kg)

Endothermic

Behavioral characteristics

Live in flocks

Grazing animals

Diurnal

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Apteryx australis

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Dromaius novaehollandiae

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Struthio camelus

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Family Apterygidae

Genus Apteryx

Species australis (Brown Kiwi)

Family Casuariidae

Genus Casuarius

Species benetti (Dwarf cassowary)

Species casuarius  (Southern cassowary)

Species unappendiculatus (Northern cassowary)

Family Dromaiidae

Genus Dromaius

Species ater (King Island Emu)

Species baudinianus (Kangaroo Island Emu)

Species novaehollandiae (Emu)

Family Rheidae

Genus Pterocnemia (Lesser Rhea)

Species pennata (Lesser Rhea)

Genus Rhea (Greater Rhea)

Species amercana (Greater Rhea)

Family Struthionidae

Genus Struthio

Species camellus (Ostrich)