Australia, May 29: Scientists for the first time have studied an egg of an extinct species of the dwarf emu. It was found in the sand dunes of King Island present between Tasmania and Australia by Christan Robertson, a natural historian. Emu is a short, stocky, and flightless bird. The islands off southern Australia used to be home to three emu subspecies: the smaller Tasmanian emu, and two dwarf emus, the King Island emu and the Kangaroo Island emu. The Australian mainland was connected to these two islands during the ice age. But 11,500 years ago, the islands became separated because of the melting of the ice glaciers. Because of this isloation, they shrunk in size. These dwarf King Island emu got extincted nearly 200 years ago in 1822. The dwarf emu was 44% smaller than the mainland emus, but their eggs were roughly the same size.
– News report by Swasti Sharma.
