C. casuarius Skull Replica or Southern Cassowary Skull measures 6.3 inches. C. casuarius Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast, 2-part skull (separate cranium & jaw). Made in USA. Cast of an original Private collection.
The Southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius), also known as double-wattled cassowary, Australian cassowary, or two-wattled cassowary, is a large flightless black bird, found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and northeastern Australia.
It is one of the three living species of cassowary, alongside the dwarf cassowary and the northern cassowary. It is a ratite and therefore related to the emu, ostriches, rheas and kiwis.
The Australian population of the C. casuarius or Southern Cassowry is listed as Endangered under federal and Queensland state legislation.
The Southern Cassowary is distributed in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and northeastern Australia. It mainly inhabits tropical rainforests but may make use of nearby savannah forests or mangroves stands. The species prefers elevations below 3,600 ft. in Australia, and 1,600 ft. in New Guinea.
The C. casuarius or Southern Cassowary has stiff, bristly black plumage, a blue face and a long neck, red on the cape and two red wattles measuring around 7.0 in. in length hanging down around its throat. A horn-like brown casque, measuring 5.1 to 6.7 in. high, sits atop the head.
Casuarius casuarius casques grow from unpaired bones located along the midline (mesethmoid and median casque element) as well as paired bones located immediately parasagittal to the midline (frontals, lacrimals, and nasals), superimposed by tightly adhering keratin.
The C. casuarius or Southern Cassowry bill can range from 3.9 to 7.5 in. The plumage is sexually monomorphic, but the female is dominant and larger with a longer casque, larger bill and brighter-colored bare parts. The juveniles have brown longitudinal striped plumage.
The three-toed feet are thick and powerful, equipped with a lethal dagger-like claw up to 4.7 inches on the inner toe.
C. casuarius or Southern Cassowry is perhaps the largest member of the cassowary family and is tied as the third heaviest bird on earth (after the Somali ostrich and the common ostrich), at a maximum size estimated at 187 lb. and 6 ft 3 in. tall.
It is technically the largest Asian bird (since the extinction of the Arabian ostrich) and the largest Australian bird (though the emu may be slightly taller).
Eggs of the Southern Cassowary are large, pale green-blue. They are the third largest eggs of any bird, after those of the Ostrich and Emu.
They have a granulated surface and are initially bright pea-green in color although they fade with age. Southern cassowaries make a thunderous call during mating season, and hissing and rumblings otherwise.
Females lay three to eight eggs in a clutch measuring 5.4 in × 3.7 in. The eggs are laid in a heap of leaf litter. The male incubates the eggs for 50 to 52 days and removes or adds litter to regulate the temperature. The male protects the chicks for nine months from predators, including humans.