Taxonomy
The King Island Emu was first mentioned in January 1802 in exploration surveys of King Island, as part of Nicolas Baudin's expedition, which described ‘woods full’ of emu and other animals. Soon after the emu went extinct, and it was not recognised as different from mainland emus at the time.
Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot first identified the King Island Emu as distinct from a fossil specimen in 1817.
There was long confusion regarding the taxonomic status and geographic origin of the King Island Emu, particularly with respect to their relationship to Kangaroo Island Emu, which were also transported to France as part of the same expedition. The expeditions logbooks failed to clearly state where and when dwarf emu individuals were collected. This led to both taxa being interpreted as a single taxon and that it originated from Kangaroo Island. More recent finds of sub-fossil material and subsequent studies on King and Kangaroo Island Emu, notably by Shane A. Parker in 1984, confirm their separate geographic origin and distinct morphology.
Based on morphology it was long believed to be a distinct species of Dromaius, but a genetic study showed that it was conspecific with the emus of the Australian mainland, and was reclassified as a subspecies of Dromaius novaehollandiae. Its smaller size was due to insular dwarfism.
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