CH. l] SPECIES OF CASSOWARY. 23 



Distribution of the Cassowaries. 



The species of the genus Casuarius present an ex- 

 cellent instance of the specialisation of a genus when its 

 region is broken up by barriers into detached areas. 

 There appear to be altogether eleven or twelve species 

 of cassowary that are well ascertained ; there may even 

 be one or two more ; at any rate there are more than 

 twelve names distributed among the cassowaries. I shall 

 not enter into the characters which distinguish the 

 species beyond remarking that they can be readily defined 

 by the shape of the " casque," by the presence or absence 

 of wattles depending from the patch of naked skin upon 

 the throat and by the particular tints exhibited by the 

 generally brilliant colouration of the latter. The casso- 

 waries are entirely limited in their distribution to the 

 Australian region and do not range over the whole of that 

 region. They are absent from New Zealand and from 

 many other outlying islands. But although the cas- 

 sowaries are of bulky form and like other Struthious birds, 

 quite incapable of flight, they are by no means limited to 

 the continent of Australia itself. The following is a list 

 of the properly defined species and their range : 



Casuarius australis, Australia. 



C. picticollis, 

 C. Edwardsi, 



C. W ester manni, 



C. uniappendiculatus, 



C. Salvadorii, 



C. galeatus, Ceram. 



New Guinea. 



