View source for Ostrich

{{Short description|Genus of flightless birds}}
{{About|the flightless bird|other uses|Ostrich (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Österreich}}
{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Miocene]]–[[Holocene]], {{fossil range|23|0}}
| image = Struthio Diversity.jpg
| image_caption = Montage of the two living species: [[Common ostrich]] (left) and [[Somali ostrich]] (right)
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Struthio camelus'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T45020636A132189458 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T45020636A132189458.en |access-date=29 February 2024}}</ref>
| type_species = ''[[Struthio camelus]]''
| type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758
| taxon = Struthio
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758<ref name=Gray>{{cite book|last=Gray |first=George Robert |author-link=George Robert Gray |title=Catalogue of the Genera and Subgenera of Birds contained in the British Museum |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/57406#8 |year=1855 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |location=London, UK |page=109 }}</ref>
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = * †''[[Struthio anderssoni|S. anderssoni]]'' <small>East Asian ostrich</small>
* ?†''S. barbarus''
* ?†''S. chersonensis'' <small>Short-toed ostrich</small>
* ?†''[[Struthio kakesiensis|S. kakesiensis]]''
* ?†''S. karingarabensis''
* †''[[Struthio asiaticus|S. asiaticus]]'' <small>Asian ostrich</small>
* †''S. brachydactylus''
* †''[[Struthio coppensi|S. coppensi]]''
* †''S. oldawayi''
* †''[[Struthio orlovi|S. orlovi]]''
* †''[[Struthio wimani|S. wimani]]''
* ''[[Struthio molybdophanes|S. molybdophanes]]'' <small>Somali ostrich</small>
* ''[[Struthio camelus|S. camelus]]'' <small>Common ostrich</small>
* †''S. daberasensis''
| synonyms = * †''Autruchon'' <small>Temminick 1840 fide Gray, 1841 (''[[nomen nudum]]'')</small>
* †''Struthiolithus'' <small>Brandt 1873</small>
* †''Megaloscelornis'' <small>Lydekker 1879</small>
* †''Palaeostruthio'' <small>Burchak-Abramovich 1953</small>
}}

'''Ostriches''' are large [[Flightless bird|flightless]] [[bird]]s. Two living species are recognised; the [[common ostrich]], native to large parts of [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], and the [[Somali ostrich]], native to the [[Horn of Africa]].

They are the heaviest and largest living birds, with adult common ostriches weighing anywhere between 63.5 and 145 kilograms and laying the largest [[Egg|eggs]] of any living land animal.<ref name="world">Del Hoyo, Josep, et al. Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 1. No. 8. Barcelona: Lynx edicions, 1992.</ref> With the ability to run at 70&nbsp;km/h (43.5&nbsp;mph),<ref name="Doherty">{{cite journal | title=Speed of animals |last1=Doherty |first1=James G. |date=March 1974 |journal=Natural History }}</ref> they are the fastest birds on land. They are farmed worldwide, with significant industries [[Ostrich farming in the Philippines|in the Philippines]] and [[Ostrich farming in Namibia|in Namibia]]. [[South Africa]] produces about 70% of global ostrich products,<ref> {{Cite web|title=The South African Ostrich Industry Footprint |url=https://www.elsenburg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2020-Ostrich-Industry-Footprint.pdf | access-date= 20 May 2024 | author= Western Cape Department of Agriculture | date= July 2020}}</ref> with the industry largely centered around the town of [[Oudtshoorn]]. [[Ostrich leather]] is a lucrative commodity, and the large feathers are used as [[Plume (feather)|plumes]] for the decoration of ceremonial headgear. [[Ostrich egg]]s and [[Ostrich meat|meat]] have been used by humans for millennia. [[Ostrich oil]] is another product that is made using ostrich fat. 

Ostriches are of the [[genus]] '''''Struthio''''' in the order [[Struthioniformes]], part of the infra-class [[Palaeognathae]], a diverse group of flightless birds also known as [[ratite]]s that includes the [[emu]]s, [[Rhea (bird)|rhea]]s, [[Cassowary|cassowarie]]s, [[Kiwi (bird)|kiwi]] and the extinct [[elephant bird]]s and [[moa]].

The common ostrich was historically native to the [[Arabian Peninsula]], and ostriches were present across Asia as far east as China and Mongolia during the [[Late Pleistocene]] and possibly into the [[Holocene climatic optimum|Holocene]].
[[File:Struisvogel paringsdans libtheora.ogg | thumb|220x124px | right | Mating dance of the ostrich.]]

==Taxonomic history==
The genus ''Struthio'' was first described by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1758. The genus was used by Linnaeus and other early taxonomists to include the [[emu]], [[Rhea (bird)|rhea]], and [[cassowary]], until they each were placed in their own genera.<ref name=Gray/> The Somali ostrich (''Struthio molybdophanes'') has recently become recognized as a separate species by most authorities, while others are still reviewing the evidence.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/n-ratites.html | title=Ratites | access-date=13 Jun 2012 | last1=Gill | first1=F. | last2=Donsker | first2=D | year=2012 | work=IOC World Bird List | publisher=WorldBirdNames.org | archive-date=5 December 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205171111/http://www.worldbirdnames.org/n-ratites.html }}</ref><ref name=BLI>{{cite web | url= http://www.birdlife.info/im/species/checklist.zip | title= The BirdLife checklist of the birds of the world, with conservation status and taxonomic sources. | access-date= 16 Jun 2012 | author= BirdLife International | year= 2012 | format= xls | archive-date= 25 December 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111225121105/http://www.birdlife.info/im/species/checklist.zip }}
</ref>

==Evolution==
[[Struthionidae]] is a member of the [[Struthioniformes]], a group of [[paleognath]] birds which first appeared during the Early [[Eocene]], and includes a variety of flightless forms which were present across the Northern Hemisphere (Europe, Asia and North America) during the Eocene epoch. The closest relatives of Struthionidae within the Struthioniformes are the [[Ergilornithidae]], known from the late Eocene to early [[Pliocene]] of Asia. It is therefore most likely that Struthionidae originated in Asia.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Mayr |first1=Gerald |last2=Zelenkov |first2=Nikita |date=2021-11-13 |title=Extinct crane-like birds (Eogruidae and Ergilornithidae) from the Cenozoic of Central Asia are indeed ostrich precursors |url=https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/doi/10.1093/ornithology/ukab048/6338403 |journal=Ornithology |language=en |volume=138 |issue=4 |article-number=ukab048 |doi=10.1093/ornithology/ukab048 |issn=0004-8038|doi-access=free }}</ref>

The earliest fossils of the genus ''Struthio'' are from the early [[Miocene]] ~21 million years ago of Namibia in Africa, so it is proposed that genus is of African origin. By the middle to late [[Miocene]] (5–13 mya) they had spread to and become widespread across Eurasia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mikhailov |first1=Konstantin E. |last2=Zelenkov |first2=Nikita |date=September 2020 |title=The late Cenozoic history of the ostriches (Aves: Struthionidae), as revealed by fossil eggshell and bone remains |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0012825220303160 |journal=Earth-Science Reviews |language=en |volume=208 |article-number=103270 |doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103270|bibcode=2020ESRv..20803270M |s2cid=225275210 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> While the relationship of the African fossil species is comparatively straightforward, many Asian species of ostrich have been described from fragmentary remains, and their interrelationships and how they relate to the African ostriches are confusing. In India, Mongolia and [[China]], ostriches are known to have become extinct only around, or even after, the end of the [[Last glacial period|last ice age]]; images of ostriches have been found prehistoric Chinese pottery and [[petroglyph]]s.<ref>Doar, B.G. (2007) [http://www.chinaheritagequarterly.org/articles.php?searchterm=010_genetalia.inc&issue=010 "Genitalia, Totems and Painted Pottery: New Ceramic Discoveries in Gansu and Surrounding Areas"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923042254/http://www.chinaheritagequarterly.org/articles.php?searchterm=010_genetalia.inc&issue=010 |date=2020-09-23 }}. ''China Heritage Quarterly''</ref><ref name=janz/><ref name=r1/><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jain |first1=Sonal |last2=Rai |first2=Niraj |last3=Kumar |first3=Giriraj |last4=Pruthi |first4=Parul Aggarwal |last5=Thangaraj |first5=Kumarasamy |last6=Bajpai |first6=Sunil |last7=Pruthi |first7=Vikas |date=2017-03-08 |editor-last=Calafell |editor-first=Francesc |title=Ancient DNA Reveals Late Pleistocene Existence of Ostriches in Indian Sub-Continent |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=12 |issue=3 |article-number=e0164823 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0164823 |pmid=28273082 |pmc=5342186 |bibcode=2017PLoSO..1264823J |issn=1932-6203|doi-access=free }}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File: Struthio camelus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.1.1.jpg|''Struthio camelus'' egg – [[MHNT]]
File:Ostrich & chicken egg comparison.jpg|Size comparison (with a chicken egg and a US dollar bill)
File:Ostrich with eggs.jpg|Ostrich with eggs
</gallery>

==Distribution and habitat ==
Today, ostriches are only found natively in the wild in [[Africa]], where they occur in a range of open arid and semi-arid habitats such as [[savanna]]s and the [[Sahel]], both north and south of the equatorial forest zone.<ref name="Donegan 2002">{{cite web|last=Donegan|first=Keenan|year=2002|title=Struthio camelus|url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Struthio_camelus.html|work=Animal Diversity Web|publisher=University of Michigan Museum of Zoology}}</ref> The [[Somali ostrich]] occurs in the [[Horn of Africa]], having evolved isolated from the common ostrich by the geographic barrier of the [[East African Rift]]. In some areas, the common ostrich's [[Masai ostrich|Masai subspecies]] occurs alongside the Somali ostrich, but they are kept from interbreeding by behavioral and ecological differences.<ref name="Freitag">{{cite journal|author1=Freitag, Stephanie|author2=Robinson, Terence J.|name-list-style=amp|year=1993|title=Phylogeographic patterns in mitochondrial DNA of the Ostrich (''Struthio camelus'')|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v110n03/p0614-p0622.pdf|journal=The Auk|volume=110|issue=3|pages=614–622|doi=10.2307/4088425|jstor=4088425}}</ref> The [[Arabian ostrich]]es in [[Asia Minor]] and [[Arabia]] were hunted to extinction by the middle of the 20th century, and in [[Israel]] attempts to introduce [[North African ostrich]]es to fill their ecological role have failed.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rinat|first=Zafrir|date=25 December 2007|title=The Bitter Fate of Ostriches in the Wild|newspaper=[[Haaretz]]|location=Tel Aviv|url=https://www.haaretz.com/the-bitter-fate-of-ostriches-in-the-wild-1.235868|access-date=10 January 2017}}</ref> Escaped common ostriches in Australia have established [[wiktionary:feral|feral]] populations.<ref>[http://trevorsbirding.com/ostriches-in-australia-and-near-my-home/ Ostriches in Australia – and near my home] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611222821/https://www.trevorsbirding.com/ostriches-in-australia-and-near-my-home/ |date=2020-06-11 }}. trevorsbirding.com (13 September 2007)</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2018-09-01|title=The outback ostriches — Australia's loneliest birds|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-02/elusive-ostriches-roam-outback-after-farming-attempts-go-bust/10190990|access-date=2021-02-10|newspaper=ABC News|language=en-AU|last1=Lysaght |first1=Gary-Jon}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Common Ostrich (Struthio camelus)|url=https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/20526-Struthio-camelus|access-date=2021-02-10|website=iNaturalist Australia|language=en}}</ref>

==Species==
[[File:Somali_ostrich.jpg|thumb|A male Somali ostrich in a [[Kenya]]n [[savanna]], showing its blueish neck]]

In 2008, ''S. linxiaensis'' was transferred to the genus ''[[Orientornis]].''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wang |first=S. |date=2008 |title=Rediscussion in the taxonomic assignment of ''Struthio linxiaensis'' Hou, et al., 2005|journal=Acta Paleontologica Sinica|volume=47|pages=362–368}}</ref> Three additional species, ''S. pannonicus'', ''S. dmanisensis'', and ''S. transcaucasicus'', were transferred to the genus ''[[Pachystruthio]]'' in 2019.<ref name="Zelenkov2019">{{cite journal|last1= Zelenkov|first1=N. V.|last2= Lavrov|first2=A. V.|last3= Startsev|first3=D. B.|last4= Vislobokova|first4=I. A.|last5= Lopatin|first5=A. V.|title= A giant early Pleistocene bird from eastern Europe: unexpected component of terrestrial faunas at the time of early Homo arrival|journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology|year= 2019|volume=39|issue=2|article-number= e1605521|doi= 10.1080/02724634.2019.1605521|bibcode=2019JVPal..39E5521Z |s2cid=198384367}}</ref> Several additional fossil forms are [[ichnotaxa]] (that is, classified according to the organism's [[trace fossil]]s such as footprints rather than its body) and their association with those described from distinctive bones is contentious and in need of revision pending more good material.<ref name=Bibi>{{cite journal |last1=Bibi|first1=Faysal | last2=Shabel|first2=Alan B.|last3=Kraatz|first3=Brian P. | last4=Stidham|first4=Thomas A. |year=2006|title=New Fossil Ratite (Aves: Palaeognathae) Eggshell Discoveries from the Late Miocene Baynunah Formation of the United Arab Emirates, Arabian Peninsula |journal=Palaeontologia Electronica |volume=9 |issue=1 |page=2A |issn=1094-8074 |url=http://palaeo-electronica.org/2006_1/eggshell/eggs.pdf }}</ref>

The species are:

*Prehistoric
** †''[[Struthio barbarus]]'' <small>Arambourg 1979</small>
** †''[[Struthio brachydactylus]]'' <small>Burchak-Abramovich 1939</small> (Pliocene of Ukraine)
** †''[[Struthio chersonensis]]'' <small>(Brandt 1873) Lambrecht 1921</small> (Pliocene of SE Europe to WC Asia) – [[oospecies]]<!-- Paleontol.Electr.9.1.2.A -->
** †''[[Struthio coppensi]]'' <small>Mourer-Chauviré et al. 1996</small> (Early Miocene of Elizabethfeld, Namibia)
** †''[[Struthio daberasensis]]'' <small>Pickford, Senut & Dauphin 1995</small> (Early – Middle Pliocene of Namibia) – oospecies<!-- *Geobios28:85; Paleontol.Electr.9.1.2.A -->
** †''[[Struthio kakesiensis]]'' <small>Harrison & Msuya 2005</small> (Early Pliocene of Laetoli, Tanzania) – oospecies<!-- Paleontol.Electr.9.1.2.A -->
** †''[[Struthio karingarabensis]]'' <small>Senut, Dauphin & Pickford 1998</small> (Late Miocene – Early Pliocene of SW and CE Africa) – [[oospecies]](?)<!-- *CRAcadSciIIA328:639 Paleontol.Electr.9.1.2.A -->
** †''[[Struthio oldawayi]]'' <small>Lowe 1933</small> (Late Pleistocene of Tanzania) – probably subspecies of ''S. camelus''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://olduvai-paleo.org/specimen/ovpp-struthio-8/|title=OVPP-Struthio 8|publisher=olduvai-paleo.org}}</ref>
** †''[[Struthio orlovi]]'' <small>Kuročkin & Lungo 1970</small> (Late Miocene of Moldavia)
** †''[[Struthio wimani]]'' <small>Lowe 1931</small> (Early Pliocene of China and Mongolia)
*[[Late Pleistocene]] {{endash}} [[Holocene]]
** †''[[Struthio anderssoni]]'' <small>Lowe 1931</small>, East Asian ostrich (Late Pleistocene of China to Mongolia)<ref name=janz>{{cite journal | last1 = Janz | first1 = Lisa | display-authors = etal | year = 2009 | title = Dating North Asian surface assemblages with ostrich eggshell: Implications for palaeoecology and extirpation | journal = Journal of Archaeological Science | volume = 36 | issue = 9| pages = 1982–1989 | doi = 10.1016/j.jas.2009.05.012 | bibcode = 2009JArSc..36.1982J }}</ref><ref name=r1>{{cite book|last=Andersson |first=Johan Gunnar |author-link=Johan Gunnar Andersson |title=On the occurrence of fossil remains of Struthionidae in China. In: Essays on the cenozoic of northern China. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of China (Peking), Series A, No. 3, pp. 53–77 |year= 1923 |publisher=Geological Survey of China |location= Peking, China }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Andersson |first=Johan Gunnar |author-link=Johan Gunnar Andersson |title=Research into the prehistory of the Chinese|year=1943|journal= Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities |volume=15 |pages=1–300}}</ref> {{endash}} <!-- The Yellow River Elephant (Stratigraphy & History of Research; Paleontol.Electr.9.1.2.A -->
** †''[[Struthio asiaticus]]'' <small>Brodkorb 1863</small>, [[Asian ostrich]] (Early Pliocene – Early Holocene of Central Asia to China? and Morocco)
** ''[[Struthio camelus]]'', [[common ostrich]]
*** ''[[Struthio camelus camelus]]'', [[North African ostrich]]
*** ''[[Struthio camelus massaicus]]'', [[Masai ostrich]]
*** ''[[Struthio camelus australis]]'', [[South African ostrich]]
*** †''[[Struthio camelus syriacus]]'', [[Arabian ostrich]]
** ''[[Struthio molybdophanes]]'', [[Somali ostrich]]

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General and cited references ==
* {{cite journal | last1 = Andersson | first1 = Johan Gunnar | year = 1943 | title = Researches into the prehistory of the Chinese. | journal = Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities | volume = 15 | pages = 1–300, plus 200 plates }}
* {{cite web| url= http://taxonomicon.taxonomy.nl/TaxonTree.aspx?id=51244&tree=0.1| title=Taxon: Genus Struthio | access-date=12 Jun 2012| last=Brands | first=Sheila | date=14 Aug 2008 | work=Project: The Taxonomicon }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Davies |first=S. J. J. F.|editor=Hutchins, Michael|author-link=Stephen John James Frank Davies |encyclopedia=Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia |chapter=Ostriches |edition=2nd |year=2003 |publisher=Gale Group |volume=8 |title=Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins |location=Farmington Hills, MI|isbn=978-0-7876-5784-0 |page=99}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Hou|first1=L. | last2=Zhou|first2=Z. |last3=Zhang|first3=F. |last4=Wang|first4=Z. |date= Aug 2005|title=A Miocene ostrich fossil from Gansu Province, northwest China |journal=Chinese Science Bulletin |volume=50 |issue=16 |pages=1808–1810 |issn=1861-9541 |doi= 10.1360/982005-575|doi-broken-date=12 July 2025 |bibcode=2005ChSBu..50.1808H |s2cid=129449364 }}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Janz | first1 = Lisa | display-authors = etal | year = 2009 | title = Dating North Asian surface assemblages with ostrich eggshell: Implications for palaeoecology and extirpation | journal = Journal of Archaeological Science | volume = 36 | issue = 9| pages = 1982–1989 | doi = 10.1016/j.jas.2009.05.012 | bibcode = 2009JArSc..36.1982J }}
*{{cite journal |journal=Seagull Learning – A Unit of Seagull Publishers Private Limited|volume=7|url=http://seagullpublishers.in/essential_grid/general-knowledge-7-6/|title=Seagull Publishers:: K-8 segment &#124; Books &#124; Practice manuals|date=20 July 2023}}

{{Palaeognathae|P.}}
{{Meat}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2576337}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ostriches| ]]
[[Category:Extant Miocene first appearances]]
[[Category:Flightless birds]]
[[Category:Miocene birds]]
[[Category:Ratites]]
[[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]