Dark Emu

Dark Emu

The King Island Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae ater) is an extinct sub-species of Emu which was endemic to King Island in the Bass Strait between mainland Australia and Tasmania. Its closest relative may be the extinct Tasmanian Emu, as they belonged to a single population until less than 14,000 years ago, when Tasmania and King Island were still connected. The small size of the King Island Emu may be an example of insular dwarfism.

The King Island Emu was mainly distinguished by being the smallest of all Emu taxa, and in having darker plumage colouration compared to the modern Emu. It was black and brown, and had naked blue skin on the neck. The chicks were striped, as in other Emus. They were distinct from the Kangaroo Island Emu in being slightly smaller and in some osteological details. The behaviour of the King Island Emu probably did not differ much from that of the mainland Emu. The bird gathered in flocks to forage and during breeding time, and fed on berries, grass and seaweed. They ran swiftly, and could defend themselves by kicking. The nest was shallow, and consisted of dead leaves and moss. Seven to nine eggs were laid, which were incubated by both parents.

The King Island Emu was discovered by Europeans in 1802 during early expeditions to the island, and most of what is known about the bird in life is due to an interview with a sealer conducted by the French naturalist François Péron there. He had arrived on King Island with Nicolas Baudin's expedition to Australia in 1802, which also brought live as well as stuffed King and Kangaroo Island Emus to France in 1804. The two live King Island specimens were kept in Jardin des Plantes, and the remains of these and the other birds are scattered throughout various museums in Europe today. The logbooks of the expedition did not clarify which island each captured bird was from, or even that they were taxonomically distinct, so their status was unclear until more than a century later. The bird was scientifically named byLouis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1817. Hunting pressure and fires started by early settlers on King Island probably lead to the extinction of the wild King Island Emus by 1805. The two captive specimens in Paris died in 1922, probably as the last of their kind.